Lighting the Home Fires Using Canadian biomass closer to home benefits everyone. BIOMASS $"/"%*"/ Volume 5 No. 3 Editorial Director/Group Publisher -Scott Jamieson (519) 429-3966 ext 244 [email protected] Associate Editor -David Manly (519) 429-3966 ext 261 [email protected] Contributors -Gordon Murray, Mark Hubert, Robert W. Gray, Hakan Ekstrom, Paul Hazlett, Dave Morris, Rob Fleming, Martin Engineering, Michael Weedon Market Production Manager Josée Crevier Ph: (514) 425-0025 Fax: (514) 425-0068 [email protected] National Sales Manager Ross Anderson Ph: (519) 429-5188 Fax: (519) 429-3094 [email protected] Quebec Sales Josée Crevier Ph: (514) 425-0025 Fax: (514) 425-0068 [email protected] Western Sales Manager Tim Shaddick [email protected] Ph: (604) 264-1158 Fax: (604) 264-1367 Media Designer -Emily Sun Canadian Biomass is published six times a year: February, April, June, August, October, and December. Published and printed by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. Printed in Canada ISSN 0318-4277 Circulation Carol Nixon e-mail: [email protected] P.O. Box 51058 Pincourt, QC J7V 9T3 Subscription Rates: Canada -1 Yr $49.50; 2 Yr $87.50; 3 Yr $118.50 Single Copy -$9.00 (Canadian prices do not include applicable taxes) USA – 1 Yr $60 US; Foreign – 1 Yr $77 US Occasionally, Canadian Biomass magazine will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.. No part of the editorial content of this publica-tion may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission ©2012 Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. www.canadianbiomassmagazine.com I rarely agree with Greenpeace. In the case of bioenergy, they have become a shrill, and at times, inconsistent, voice. I distrust their motives, and in return, they question mine. Still, I have to agree that it would be better for everyone if we did a better job of using bioenergy at home. Don’t get me wrong (or quote me out of context) as our current model of ex-porting bioenergy around the world works. Evidence supports the carbon bal-ance of the current pellet export business model and we are using our wealth of resources to help other jurisdictions reduce their reliance on non-renewable fossil fuels. We also create mean-ingful employment in remote and rural Canada in the process. The bottom line is that Canada’s nascent biomass sector is doing the best it can with the markets available. As a nation of energy consumers, we have the opportunity, perhaps even the obligation, to make so much more of the resources we are blessed with. Here are just some of the uses we can implement at home, with the right combination of inno-vation, leadership and encouragement. Canadian co-firing: Where fibre is available (and it is in many areas) and coal is the alternative, this is a no-brainer. Residential pellet heating: Modern systems are both low-emission and conve-nient. Do we really need to use petroleum products for heating? District heating: This is an efficient model that may be too “socialistic” for many Canadians. However, it is time to get out of that 20th-century mindset and make this a growing reality. Combined heat and power (CHP): Co-firing and district heating are good, but thermal efficiencies are only in the 40 to 45% range at best. In contrast, modern low-emission CHP systems can approach 90%, all us-ing biomass sourced within 150 km. Multiply that sev-eral hundred fold, and we’ve made a significant change to our energy mix. The greenhouse sector is rife with op-portunity. I dropped in on a grower in southern Ontario in March that was using high-efficiency Cat generators to heat its greenhouses, push power on the grid, and create CO 2 for the plants at over 90% ther-mal efficiency. They were on natural gas, but the concept holds true for biomass. Bioproducts: Now combine all of the above methods by producing valuable bio-products, with the process heat and steam being used for local needs, and we’ve at-tained the Holy Grail of bioenergy. Are we heading in that direction? Yes. Are we moving there with a clear plan, orchestrated government support and ad-equate speed? Not at all. That’s our challenge, and the vision of Ì ÃÊ>}>âi°ÊU Scott Jamieson, Editor/Group Publisher [email protected] 4 Canadian BIOMASS AUGUST 2008
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