BIOCHAR FIELD-TEST STARTS IN ONTARIO The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and Dynamotive Energy Systems Cor- poration are planning a biochar field trial in Ontario. Although intensive study of biochar-rich dark earths in the Amazon has led to a wider idea of biochar’s properties as a soil enhancer, it is unknown whether there are simi- lar effects on productivity in temperate PACIFIC BIOENERGY MAKES MORE PELLETS Pacific Bioenergy Corporation and GDF Suez are partnering to support a $24-million expansion of Pacific Bioenergy’s wood pellet production facilities in Prince George, British Columbia. Pacific Bioenergy and global en- ergy producer GDF Suez have formed a new joint venture to own and operate the Prince George plant. In addition to its minority interest in the joint venture, GDF Suez has agreed to purchase 2.5 million tonnes of wood pellets for its electrical generating facili- ties in Belgium over the next 10 years. The expansion project, expected to be complete in the fall of 2010, will see annual wood pellet production at the Prince George plant double to 350,000 tonnes. New state-of- the-art emission control equipment will be installed, improving the air quality in and around Prince George. The expanded plant will use more mountain pine beetle killed wood and other waste wood from the forests surrounding Prince George. “Our use of carbon-neutral wood pellets from British Columbia allows us to lower our carbon dioxide emissions at our electri- cal generating plants and to achieve the goals concerning renewable energy set out by the European Union,” says Dirk Beeu- wsaert, executive vice-president in charge of energy Europe & international for GDF Suez. “This new partnership assures that we will receive significant quantities of carbon- neutral wood pellets during the next decade and will support our position as a world leader in large-scale biomass generation.” MORE BIOMASS NEWS AT WWW.CANADIANBIOMASSMAGAZINE.COM The solution behind the solution. region soils. As a start to answering this question, a field plot has been es- tablished on a farm near Shakespeare, Ontario. The local farmer supplied the test field plot, biochar application support, and GPS mapping. Dynamo- tive supplies biochar, which is made during its fast pyrolysis process. Staff from OMAFRA will be assisting in the monitoring and interpretation of data from the plot. Large enough strips to accommodate conventional harvest- ing equipment have been laid out in the field, alternate strips have received biochar application, and the entire plot will be monitored over the next grow- ing season to determine if there are any differences in the growth or yield of the grain corn crop that will be planted in the field. Quality pellets, guaranteed. For perfect pellets the entire produc- tion system must work together flawlessly. Buhler enables total process control by providing a complete process design package and key equipment for drying, grinding, pelleting, cooling, bagging and loading. This, combined with Buhler’s integrated automation system, unrivaled after sales support and training provides a seam- less solution, guaranteed. Buhler Inc., 13105 12th Ave N., Plymouth, MN 55441, T 763-847-9900 [email protected], www.buhlergroup.com CanadianBIOMASS 9
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