Plants OK’d
August 11, 2009 | Omineca Express
Prince George will be the location of two bioenergy projects approved by B.C. Hydro and the B.C. Utilities Commission Tuesday.
In February 2008 B.C. Hydro issued the first of two calls for bioenergy project proposals. Canfor Pulp Ltd. Partnership and PG Interior Waste to Energy will develop bioenergy production projects in the city.
The other two successful projects are Domtar Pulp and Paper Products’ Kamloops project and Zellstoff Celgar Ltd. Partnership’s project in Castlegar.
“It’s a great step for the local economy,” Minster of Forests and Range Pat Bell said. “It’s going to mean jobs in construction during the development. We’re going to see significant investment in Prince George over the next 24-36 months.”
Bell, who also serves as MLA for Prince George-Mackenzie, said the plants will create long-term jobs in forest sector harvesting, hauling and grinding the waste-wood material in addition to jobs within the operations themselves.
The four projects will generate 579 gigawatt hours per year of carbon-neutral electricity – enough to power 52,000 homes, according to statistics released by B.C. Hydro.
Construction on PG Interior Waste to Energy’s bioenergy facility began earlier this year. The facility will burn sawmill residue from a sawmill located in the BCR Industrial Site.
The plant will generate eight megawatts of power and employ 70 people. The facility is being built on the site of a former planer mill which employed 12 people.
In addition to electricity, the plant will create charcoal, carbon pellets and bio liquids as salable byproducts.
The company anticipates the plant will generate 70 per cent less fine particulate air pollution then the former planer mill.
The projects will burn sawmill residue, logging debris, trees killed by the mountain pine beetle and other residual wood to generate power.
“It’s taking something that was waste material and turning it into energy,” Bell said. “They’ll be taking 100 per cent of the tree, instead of 70 or 80 per cent.”
The B.C. Hydro call for bioenergy projects was “absolutely critical,” to kick-start the bioenergy sector in the province, he said.
Bell compared the development of the bioenergy sector to the development of the pulp and paper sector in B.C. during the 1970s. Once the market conditions were right, development occurred very quickly.
The first phase of the call was for proponents who either already have forest tenures or have agreements with existing tenure holders to obtain the waste material.
Phase two will be for projects which require new tenure agreements.
The bioenergy sector will benefit the traditional lumber and pulp and paper industries, he said, by bearing a portion of the harvest costs.
“The idea is being able to amortize your road building costs, planning costs... and other costs over the whole tree, not just 70 per cent of it. Right now it’s all on the saw log component to carry those costs,” Bell said. “We already have a very efficient industry, but this will make it even more efficient.”
