Lucky Number Seven t looked for a while as if the NIMBY groups might get the better of them. But Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. persevered in its pursuit of its latest pellet mill and now construction is complete in Lavington. NIMBY opposition to the plant was well-docu-mented in the local news outlets, with newspa-pers and radio/TV outlets throughout the Okanagan Valley reporting regularly on the opposition to the plant. A community orga-nization called Lavington Is For Everyone (LIFE) was one of the primary groups in opposition, citing pollu-tion, traffic, fire/explosion risk and noise concerns that would be a result of the new operation. There were also mounting concerns over the legwork done by the Ministry of Environment in ensuring that concerns were met from a dust and emissions standpoint. Many of those in opposition of the plant cited the assessments done by MoE as having serious flaws and that construction of the plant had to be halted until concerns were addressed. All the while, the team at Pinnacle waded through a sea of red tape in order to get construction moving, working with WorkSafeBC on the design to create the safest design possible. It is easy for many of us to shrug off the concerns of community groups as mindless chatter from people who didn’t think before buying a property near industrial properties or along high traffic routes. But in the case of the Lavington mill, the NIMBY fight for environmental protections has provided a valuable positive: a model for an “environmentally-Biomass_FEB16.indd 1 BIOMASS CANADIAN Volume 16 No. 1 Editor -Andrew Macklin (905) 713-4358 [email protected] Editor -Andrew Snook (905) 713-4301 [email protected] Contributors -Gordon Murray, Staffan Melin Editorial Director/Group Publisher -Scott Jamieson (519) 429-3966 ext 244 [email protected] 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 -Alison Keba Circulation Manager Carol Nixon – [email protected] 450-458-0461 Canadian Biomass is published six times a year: February, April, June, August, October, and December. Published and printed by Annex Business Media. Publication Mail Agreement # 40065710 Printed in Canada ISSN 2290-3097 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 CIRCULATION Tel: (416) 442-5600 ext 3552 Fax: (416) 510-5170 [email protected] 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 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 publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission ©2016 Annex Business Media, 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.ca FEBRUARY 2016 Lavington creates a new Pinnacle benchmark I friendly” mill. In the construction of the Lavington mill, Pinnacle implemented new technolo-gies that improve emissions from the mill, such as cyclofilter technology to remove particulate from external emissions as well as low temperature, low emissions bed dryers. The company also enclosed its main mill processes, reducing the noise produced and reduc-ing the wood dust that can blow from the mill site onto adjacent properties. The result of all of the measures put in place, some of which were influenced by environmental and community input, is a high-output mill on a small footprint with substantially improved standards for dust collection/ suppression, emissions control and safety. Sure, there are always going to be some community concerns that you can’t do much to address. Some of the fibre will have to be trucked to the site, provide truck noise and vehicle emissions that will impact those residents living within a close radius of the plant. But what has been accomplished by Pinnacle in the design of the Lavington mill should be noted by the industry as we look for new ways to create positive efficiencies in current and future mill designs. After all, we are creating a fuel that is meant to be an environmentally-friendly alternative to dirty energy like coal. The least we can do is find ways to create a production design that also carries that same consciousness. 2016-01-28 10:51 AM 4 Canadian BIOMASS
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