BURNINGissues WEST FRASER AND EPCOR JOIN FORCES IN HOUSTON Vancouver, BC – In what will likely become a familiar trend of forestry and energy companies partnering on biomass projects, West Fraser and EPCOR are working together to explore the potential of a biomass-fuelled 50- to 70 megawatt power generation facility near Houston, BC. The project is only in the pre-feasi- bility phase, but if it proceeds it will be developed as part of BC Hydro’s Phase II bioenergy Request for Proposal process. Home to some of the world’s largest sawmills, Houston has its share of sawmill waste. The project would use this as well as forest residuals from harvesting activities such as slash and limbs, and low-grade beetle kill wood. In fact, West Fraser has already run slash recovery tests using the John Deere 1490D fibre bundler in the Houston area to get a handle on costs of this side of the equation. A decision to go ahead with the project will not be made until late 2008, and will be subject to West Fraser and EPCOR confi rming the economic vi- ability of the project and being successful bidders in the BC Hydro process. Vancouver-based West Fraser runs sawmills and holds timber tenures in the area, while Edmonton-based EPCOR PELLETS THE ANSWER St. Anne de Bellevue, QC – BioCap Canada and Resource Effi cient Agricultural Production Canada have released a report that identifies solid biomass pellets as the best option for Ontario to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Analyzing Ontario Bio-fuel Options shows that an incentive program for large-scale production and use of solid bio-fuels for commercial and industrial applications would be an effective and sustainable way to both grow the provin- cial economy and reduce dependence on coal and associated GHGs. It would also create new market outlets for the forest sector. In large-scale use, solid bio-fuels would be much more cost effective than ethanol and bio-diesel, and even more cost effective than wind power at avoiding carbon dioxide emissions. The full report can be found at www.reap-canada.com. Bois BSL buys Granby’s Ecolog Mont-Joli, QC – The Groupe Bois BSL, specialists in hardwood flooring based in Mont-Joli, QC, acquired Ecolog of Granby, QC in late May for $1.7 million. Ecolog makes energy logs, and will be added to Bois BSL’s energy division Bois BSL Éner- gie. “We are very pleased to add Ecolog energy logs to our line of products, known under the SmartLog and Qualiflamme 8 CanadianBIOMASS brand names,” explains Stéphane Héroux, R&D director with Bois BSL. These logs are made from hardwood shavings and chips from the company’s flooring operations. The operations will be moved to an existing Bois BSL plant in Matane, part of Quebec’s Gaspé region. Overall, the company makes 18 mil- lion logs per year. AUGUST 2008 A John Deere 1490D bundler from Brandt Equipment works on a test site about 90 km from Houston, BC. West Fraser is testing the technology as part of its proposed biomass power plant with energy supplier EPCOR. builds, owns, and operates power plants, electrical transmission and distribution networks, water and wastewater treatment plants and infrastructure in Canada and the US. It owns one of North America’s largest biomass power plants in Williams Lake, BC. CANADA INVADES SWEDEN Jönköping, Sweden – According to World Bioenergy, the largest dele- gation to visit the conference, tour, and trade show in late May was from Canada, as forest industry members and community leaders look for Scandinavian expertise for what is still a young field in Canada. “The Swedes and Finns are ahead of the rest of the world in bioenergy development, largely because of a lack of oil and gas. Canadian industry has lagged behind because we have oil and gas,” explains Douglas Bradley, president of the Canadian Bioenergy As- sociation and host of its own delegation of over 60 Canadians. “In particular we’re looking for the forest residual harvest equipment and knowledge, so we can use our forest biomass that is currently being burned or left to rot. That means everything from gathering branches and tops to transporting them in a cost-effective way. Still, both Bradley and the conference organizers acknowledge that much of the technology will have to be adapted to manage such particular Canadian challenges as varied harvesting systems, longer distances, and a lack of district heat infrastructure.
Canadian Biomass August 08: Page 8
