Lisa Hrabluk
Canwest News Service
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The future of Canada's forests may lie in applying new technologies to a very old use.
Fuel and heat -- trees have long provided both, but wood-produced energy is attracting interest from researchers, investors and consumers. It even has a new name -- bioenergy.
It includes three main product lines: biomass, which uses the wood waste from milling and logging operations to produce electricity and heat; pellets, a wood product that is used in specially designed heating systems; and biofuels, which extracts cellulosic ethanol from wood waste for use as an additive in gasoline and diesel.
For a sector reeling from mill closures, heightened competition from South America and Asia and slumping sales in the U.S., bioenergy may be an important part of Canada's forestry future. Across the country, mill towns are building bioenergy projects, such as a co-operative pellet plant in Miramichi, N.B., a village-wide heating system in Ouje-Bougoumou, an indigenous Cree community in northern Quebec, and a possible biorefinery in Hearst, Ont.
The growth of the bioenergy industry may be a cause of concern for some large forestry companies, which will now have to contend with rising demand and prices for fibre.
Some companies, however, see an opportunity to transform themselves from pulp companies into diversified forestry companies, producing a range of specialized products, including energy.
"Our commitment to increase our environmental performance has two big drivers behind it," said Shawn Wasel, director of environmental resources, for Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc.
"Environmental performance is closely tied to economic performance."
The company, which operates a pulp mill in northern Alberta, was the first Canadian forestry company to go carbon neutral, doing so last year. To achieve that, Alberta-Pacific produces its own power by burning wood waste, selling the excess power to the Alberta electricity grid and expanding its poplar tree plantation, which acts as a carbon sink, sequestering carbon dioxide.
Mr. Wasel says the company will continue to integrate environmental performance into its business plan, by exploring bioenergy projects and by seeking environmental certification for its wood products.
One of Canada's most significant projects is Ottawa-based Iogen's plans to develop the country's first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Saskatchewan. The company's partners include Royal Dutch Shell ($46 million), Goldman Sachs and Co. ($30 million) and Petro-Canada ($15.8 million).
The plant also has applied for funding under the federal government's NextGen Biofuels Fund, which will fund up to 40 per cent of costs to establish a large-scale commercial biofuel facility.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
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