BURNINGissues univeRsity of noRtheRn Bc Begins BioeneRgy pRogRam Prince George, BC – The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) officially started its multi-million dollar Northern Forest Products and Bioenergy Innovation Centre with the June 30th opening of a wood pellet combustion system on campus. The pellet system is installed at the I.K. Barber Enhanced Forestry Laboratory and is the result of a partnership between UNBC and the Wood Pellet Associa- tion of Canada (WPAC). The installation includes a silo for A silo stores wood pellets and feeds a recently installed combustion system that is part of UNBC’s new bioenergy program. Dynamotive Receives innovation awaRD Vancouver, BC – Dynamotive Energy Systems Corporation was hon- oured with the 2009 Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organiza- tion (IREO) Innovation Award for contributions to global sustainability through the development of its patented fast pyrolysis technology and its efforts towards the development of synthetic fuels from biomass. Mr. Richard Lin, chairman of Dynamo- tive, accepted the 2009 IREO award on behalf of the company on June 11 during a ceremony held at the UN headquarters in New York City. The award was created to honour innovative leaders that are contribut- ing to the research and development of sustainable energy solutions. It is bestowed following a review conducted by a committee chaired by UN ambassadors and selected experts from rec- ognized and leading international authori- ties and organizations. pellet storage, connections to the existing heating system of the Enhanced Forestry Lab, and a year’s worth of pellets provided by the local member companies of the WPAC. The project was funded by the Gov- ernment of Canada’s Commu- nity Economic Diversification Initiative. “This is an exciting day for UNBC as we embark on a pro- gram – together with industry, government, and northern communities – that will hope- fully enable the development of new renewable energy oppor- tunities,” says Dr. Charles Jago, UNBC’s interim president. “While the project will provide heat to the Forestry Lab, it will be equally valuable as a plat- form for applied research.” UNBC has also selected Nexterra Systems Corp. to supply and install a biomass gasification system to heat its main campus buildings. The gasification system will convert locally sourced wood residue into clean-burning syngas that will displace up to 85% of the natural gas currently used to heat the campus. Initial site preparation has begun, and the gasification system is expected to be operational by early 2011. The project is funded by the federal and provincial governments. Dynaco tuRns to Biomass Saint-Philippe-de-Neri, QC - Groupe Dynaco, a food cooperative, became the first cooperative in Quebec to invest in equipment to supply energy from biomass to its mill. This is an investment of $1.5 million. The cost of the biomass combustion system amounted to nearly $650,000. The plant includes a biomass combustion system model ST manufactured by Combustion Expert Inc., a manufacturing company specializing in the design, manufacture, installation and start-up of biomass equipment. The boiler power of Groupe Dynaco’s mill is 300 BHP (3 MW). The thermal energy released from burning wood heats up the water in the steam boiler. The steam is used for production purposes – for manufacturing livestock food – but could as well be used for heating. Combustion Expert’s studies show that it can be four times more cost effective to use biomass as fuel Chair Richard Lin accepts Dyna- motive’s Intergovernmental Re- newable Energy Organization Innovation Award. Quebec pellet start-up receives funds Sacré-Cœur, QC – Granluco Inc. has received $750,000 in re- payable funding to start up a wood pellet plant in Sacré-Cœur, in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec. The funds were provided under Canada Economic Development’s Community Economic Diversification Initiative–Vitality program. This new company 6 CanadianBIOMASS will specialize in the manufacture of wood pellets for home heating and for horse litter. Two local sawmills will supply the company with sawdust and wood shavings to produce the pel- lets. Granluco intends to sell its products in Quebec, Ontario, and northeastern United States. AUGUST 2009 compared to natural gas or propane. This is confirmed by Groupe Dynaco, which has seen significant savings in energy costs since the commissioning of the equipment. A rapid ROI was helped by the year-round energy consumption at the plant.
Canadian Biomass August 2009: Page 6
