Commissioning is under way at Solid Energy's pilot briquetting plant near Mataura, and production is expected to begin next month.
Solid Energy general manager of lignite conversion Greg Visser said civil construction work had been completed.
"The plant now has a power supply, so we have been commissioning plant sub-systems over the last two to three weeks.
We will start producing briquettes in August, then in September we expect to have completed commissioning of the plant to begin production of on-spec briquettes for sale."
The plant on Craig Rd is expected to produce up to 90,000 tonnes of low-moisture, high-energy briquettes a year from 150,000 tonnes of lignite mined from Solid Energy's New Vale opencast mine at Waimumu.
It is the first of three projects planned by Solid Energy for lignite from the Waimumu, Croydon and Mataura areas.
