Canadian Biomass • January February 2016 • Biomass Update

BioAmber Inc. announced that its Sarnia production plant, jointly owned with Mitsui & Co., has received ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and FSSC 22000 certifications. These certifications were granted by accredited certification bodies following audits of the Sarnia plant in Q4 2015.

By achieving these certifications BioAmber has demonstrated its commitment to enhancing customer satisfaction through the implementation of an integrated management system. BioAmber has put in place processes that ensure continual improvement and conformity to customer, statutory and regulatory requirements.

Obtaining these certifications within four months of start-up is a remarkable achievement and a testament to the operational excellence practiced by our Sarnia team,” said Jean-Francois Huc, BioAmber’s chief executive officer. “These certifications demonstrate that BioAmber Sarnia is a reliable and professional supplier of bio-based chemicals. They also position us as an industry leader in the fast growing field of sustainable chemicals production,” he added.

“These certifications are the culmination of three years of preparation and implementation and are the result of hard work by our Sarnia team,” said Fabrice Orecchioni, BioAmber’s chief operations officer. “They validate the robustness of the management system we have put in place to ensure that we consistently deliver high value to our customers. This integrated management system is the foundation of our ambitious operational excellence plan driven by lean manufacturing principles. These certifications are important for existing and prospective customers, and they send a clear signal about our ability to produce reliably, safely and efficiently. This is a significant operating milestone and further evidence of our ability to execute,” he added.

The European Commission has concluded that U.K. support for the conversion of Lynemouth power station from coal to biomass complies with EU state aid rules. The Commission found that the project will further EU environmental and energy goals without unduly distorting competition.

In December of 2014, the U.K. notified plans to subsidize the conversion of the coal-fired Lynemouth power plant to biomass. The plant would be able to generate 420 MW of electricity running exclusively on wood pellets. The U.K. government intends to support the project in the form of a premium paid on top of the market price of the electricity generated (a so-called “Contract for Difference”). The project will receive aid until 2027 and, according to U.K. estimates, will generate about 2.3 Twh of low-carbon electricity per Year. The plant is due to use approximately 1.5 million tonnes of wood pellets per year.

The Commission opened an in-depth investigation in February of 2015 to assess whether the terms and conditions of the U. K. support, and in particular the financial calculations and estimates regarding key cost parameters, would avoid overcompensation. In light of the comments received from interested third parties as well as detailed technical information submitted by the U.K., the Commission is now satisfied that the submitted parameters are robust and present no risk of overcompensation.

The Commission’s investigation also did not find any evidence of market distortion in the global wood pellets market. Finally, it is satisfied that the measures will not lead to undue distortions of competition in the market for other wood-based products.

Diacarbon Energy Inc. continues to ramp up production at its Merritt, B.C. plant, announcing its plans to add a third pelletizer this year.

Canadian Biomass magazine learned of the planned upgrade from Diacarbon President Jerry Ericsson during a recent visit to the plant.

Currently, Diacarbon has two pelletizers in place, which allows the company to produce up to 50,000 tonnes of pellets per year. The addition of the third pelletizer will increase capacity production at the plant to 75,000 tonnes.

The company began production of white wood pellets at the Merritt, B.C. plant in 2015. Diacarbon uses sawmill residues from an adjacent sawmill for the creation of pellets.

The plant was previously owned by Highland Pellet Manufacturing Ltd. The company had multiple delays getting the plant running and, in February of 2012, was served with a notice of claims from an Ontario company that It owed over $1.6 million to.

Be sure to watch for our feature story on Diacarbon Energy’s Merritt, B.C. pellet plant in the March/April edition of Canadian Biomass.

The Manitoba and Canadian governments are looking to help the prairie province kick coal.

The two tiers of government have announced they will provide up to $500,000 in funding for 12 biomass fuel projects across the province.

“There are renewable energy resources readily available for use as biomass energy sources,” said Ron Kostyshyn, Manitoba’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. “By increasing our capacity to make and use green energy we are reducing carbon emissions in Manitoba while promoting the growth of new industry.”

Among the proposals selected to receive funding are two projects to convert a coal-fired heating systems to biomass and funding for new equipment for Southeast Pallet and Wood Products in Blumenort, Man. Which will allow the Company to double its annual biomass processing capacity.

The program is funded partly through Manitoba’s Coal Tax, and like other biofuel programs across the country aims to promote the growing industry as well as reduce emissions.

In late November, Rentech provided a progress statement regarding its Northern Ontario pellet mill projects, providing optimism that both plants would be operating full-time in the very near future.

The Atikokan facility achieved record production of approximately 1,850 metric tons of pellets for the week ended November 14th. The plant’s design capacity is 110,000 metric tons per year, or 2,115 metric tons per week. The announcement of a week at 87 per cent production versus capacity marked a very positive step forward in getting the Atikokan mill fully operational.

The Wawa facility resumed pellet production mid-November, having been offline to modify the log in-feed system and complete the most critical phase of its conveyer replacements.

Wawa has been operating at approximately 30 per cent of design capacity since coming online, and is again shipping pellets to the port of Quebec, for delivery to Drax.

Rentech officials expect to complete the second phase of conveyance replacements at Wawa in the first quarter of 2016, with the goal of operating at full capacity in the second half of the 2016.

The team at Arterran Renewables is closing in on the establishment of their first commercial-scale biomass operation.

The company has developed a process for transforming manure, municipal solid waste, wood and agricultural waste into a carbon neutral, renewable solid biofuel. The end product possesses the same beneficial characteristics of thermal coal, but without the CO2 emissions or pollution that coal has. The fuel is said to have an energy density of 10,000 to 12,500 Btu per pound depending on the feedstock.

The company is currently working with a municipality in British Columbia on a plot of land that would allow the company to erect thermal reactors for the production of the biomass.

Arterran recently won the Startup Canada 2015 award for sustainable development, and was nominated for the Governor General’s Innovation Awards.

The biomass and forest industries in central Maine has taken a hit with the announcement that Covanta Holding Corp. will close two biomass plants in the coming months.

The company will take its two plants in West Enfield and Jonesboro offline by the end of March. The company is citing current low energy prices as the cause for the closures.

The two plants are responsible for approximately 24.5 MW hours of electricity, enough power to meet the demands of 50,000 homes.

The Professional Logging Contractors of Maine has estimated that the closures could impact up to 2,500 jobs in the state, as the logging industry has been supplying the two plants with low-value fibre and forestry residues for years. The PLC is unsure whether or not those fibres will be in demand elsewhere in the region.