pellets. But officials were “pleasantly surprised” with how little cleanup was needed as a result of the biomass fuel, especially compared to what was needed for the white pellets used at OPG Atikokan. There were new concepts that members of the team needed to learn, including the steaming of the bunkers and the modifica-tions made to the pulverizers. Add to that the knowledge required for the upgrades to the dust suppression and grounding systems. Overall, it took the whole crew on-site around six months to become fully educated and comfortable with the changes that had been installed at the plant. The cost of the conversion of the generating station from coal to advanced biomass was $5 million, a fraction of the $170 million cost for the Atikokan project. CHALLENGING LOGISTICS CHIARELLI TALKS BIOMASS Following the official opening of OPG Thunder Bay in mid-August, Ontario Minister of Energy Bob Chiarelli was excited to share his thoughts on biomass as part of the prov-ince’s energy mix. “One of our green policies in Ontario is to replace dirty coal with green energy,” Chiarelli says. “Moving to both con-ventional biomass and advanced biomass in Atikokan and Thunder Bay is part of that policy. We’re very, very pleased to have been able to do this.” With the Atikokan and Thunder Bay conversions complete, the minister moved on to explore opportunities for the expansion of biomass as part of the province’s energy infrastructure. “We want to try and grow the biomass industry. We also want to try and export the industry. It’s on our agenda for OPG and Hydro One to look at export markets. Biomass is one of them. We’re also looking at the possibility of advanced bio-mass as an emerging technology and an emerging market.” But the minister also recognized that there is the potential to create an advanced biomass industry in Ontario as well. “We might be able to justify advanced biomass here in Ontario. There are people who have looked at it, but we have to help them create a market.” Part of that solution is recognizing that the expansion of a homegrown biomass industry also has a significant impact on another important industry to the Ontario economy. “We are looking to be innovative and creative in expand-ing the biomass business. Because it’s more than energy; it’s also forestry. There has been a resurgence in forestry. We want to piggyback biomass on to that.” With a strong political will prepared to help drive the industry forward, the future looks bright for the biomass industry in Ontario. While the conversion cost remained low thanks to the abil-ity to use the equipment already in place from the coal-fire generation, the cost of the fuel remains at a premium. As of now, there is no local, regional, national, or even continental supplier for the type of advanced biomass that OPG Thunder Bay is using for its operation. The pellets from Arbaflame are transported by non-dedicated barge from the port in Oslo to OPG through the St. Lawrence Sea-way and the Great Lakes. The ocean-going ship arrives in Thun-der Bay at Keefer Terminal, located just down the road from the generating station, where the fuel is then loaded onto trucks to be driven the rest of the way to the outside storage area at OPG. The pellets are shipped in bags, making for easier transport from port to station. Right now the situation is less than ideal, since the pellets are not transported on a dedicated ship, but it is hoped that the growth of a domestic market will be forthcoming. GLOBAL LEADER The completion of the project makes OPG Thunder Bay the first at-scale 100 per cent coal-to-advanced-bio-mass conversion in the world. The project provides a model for coal-based energy generation facilities around the globe that is cost-efficient, while also using a fuel that has the potential to be locally sourced in many parts of the world. The plant could be the key to the devel-opment of the biomass heating industry in Canada. • For more information on bioenergy conversion projects across Canada, visit canadianbiomassmagazine.ca Canadian BIOMASS allied blower biomass novdec14.indd 1 13 2014-11-18 2:22 PM
Canadian Biomass November/December 2015: Page 13
