One of the key objectives in designing the new rail cars was for a wagon that would carry as much biomass as possible. by 80 per cent compared to coal – a saving of some 10 million tonnes of CO2 a year compared to levels today. When all three units are done, Drax will use seven to eight million tonnes of wood pellets annually. Not only will Drax be cleaner but the conversion is central to the company’s fu-ture prosperity. The U.K. Government has introduced a carbon price floor (CPF) – a tax on fossil fuels used to generate electricity. Feature Speakers Dr. William Strauss – Founder/Owner, FutureMetrics, Founder/Director, Maine Energy Systems Joseph Seymour – Executive Director, Biomass Thermal Energy Council Gordon Murray – Executive Director, Wood Pellet Association of Canada Ken Shields – Chairman of the Board, Canadian Bioenergy Association Deborah Elson – Vice-President, Stakeholder Relations, Canadian Renewable Fuels Association Matt Bovelander – Senior Consultant Bio Solutions, Indufor Asia Pacific Seth Walker – Associate Bioenergy Economist, RISI Paul Lansbergen – Vice-President, Forest Products Association of Canada Steve Price – Executive Director, Bio-Solutions, Alberta Innovates Brent Boyko – Director, Biomass Business Development, Ontario Power Generation It came into effect on 1 April 2013. The CPF for coal started at £0.44 ($0.75) per giga-joule, escalating rapidly to £1.63 ($1.77) by 2016, making the economics of coal power generation very challenging. Total capital costs for biomass transfor-mation will be in the range £650 million to £700 million ($1.1 to $1.2 billion), incor-porating: • Delivery, storage and distribution infrastructure for biomass fuel, plus necessary plant modifications, for a three unit conversion; • Two U.S.-based pellet plants (de-livering 900,000 tonnes annually) and one U.S. port export facility; and • Potential investment to support compliance with the Industrial Emissions Directive of the Europe-an Union So far, Drax is pleased with the perfor-mance of its first converted unit – so pleased in fact that the company is now considering a fourth unit. Thompson said, “Evaluation of a fourth unit conversion at Drax is un-derway, including assessment of whether this would be best delivered through mod-ification of our existing co-firing systems or investment in new bespoke facilities.” The company is also on schedule with its U.S. projects in the U.S. Gulf region. Pellet plants are under construction in Amite, Miss., and Morehouse, La., as well as the port facility at Baton Rouge, La. These U.S. facilities will be operational by mid 2015. WHErE THE BioEnErGy WorLD MEETS Chris Turner Author, “The Great Leap: How to Survive and Thrive in the Sustainable Economy” Jeffrey Simpson Author and Globe & Mail National Newspaper Columnist PRINCE GEORGE, CANADA RegisteR now! bioenergyconference.org Contact us for more information Event Manager, Cam McAlpine [email protected] +1-250-961-6611 ConFErEnCE Co-HoST inTErnATionAL PArTnErSHiPS ForUM Co-HoST GiGAWATT PArTnEr 26 Canadian BIOMASS MARCH/APRIL 2014
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