BIOMASS FIBRE ONLY It has been speculated at various times throughout the past few years that NSP was supplementing its supply of biomass wood with higher-value logs that should actually be shipped to pulp and lumber producers. But according to Campbell, the num-bers just don’t add up: “There is a strong economic motivator for logs to go to the right buyer. The next closest competitor to biomass would be Grade Three hard-wood sawlogs, which commands a 30 per cent premium in the market. The highest quality Grade One hardwood sawlogs are worth three times as much as biomass.” The operation has also been subject to a series of audits intended on, in part, en-suring that the company is using the right type of fibre for power generation. “We have an extremely aggressive au-diting program,” Campbell says. “We are regulated by the Department of Natural Resources, the Renewable Energy Standard, WE FACE EXPLOSIONS EVERY DAY SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO. Don’t ignore potential hazards in your facility. Get tested! DEPEND ON FIKE for expert testing services and our full range of explosion protection solutions. To request a free consultation with a Fike Explosion Protection progessional, email us at: [email protected] 1-800-363-8116 www.fike.ca the Department of the Environment and the NSUARB (Nova Scotia Utility and Re-view Board). We meet all of our regulated requirements.” NSP has also conducted extensive au-dits of its own in the first two years of operation. The company’s own team has conducted 132 audits, and two procure-ment managers have conducted an addi-tional 230 inspections over and above, a sharp increase above the industry stan-dard. To this point, there have been no significant findings of misallocated fibre. Between the hauling and harvesting operations, it is estimated that approxi-mately 200 jobs are partially or fully re-liant on the fibre provided to NSP. That is complemented by 34 full-time Nova Scotia Power staff, as well as 10 full-time contract staff responsible for the fuel han-dling and wood yard. Staffing requirements at the site have not been an issue thanks to a program available at Nova Scotia Community Col-lege in Port Hawkesbury. The College of-fers a Power Engineering program, which graduates students as 3rd class power en-gineers. Of those students, approximately 20 each year are welcomed to the NSP site to fulfill their eight-week work placement requirement, and NSP has had success hir-ing some of the best and brightest students from the program, many of whom are looking for solid employment in the field within the community. That has been a significant contributor to the early success of the bioenergy project at Point Tupper. But admittedly, the team at Point Tup-per is still learning, refining the operation and finding efficiencies when possible. Nova Scotia Power officials have experi-ence handling fuels like coal, oil, and nat-ural gas, but not as much with biomass. That’s why operational leaders are work-ing on taking an active role in the Canadi-an biomass industry, learning from indus-try experts from across the country and around the world. So far, the success of the Point Tup-per operation has provided a new exam-ple for successfully providing renewable, clean energy for thousands of homes and businesses throughout Nova Scotia. • For more information about bioenergy and bioproducts, visit canadianbiomassmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 14 Canadian BIOMASS
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