With the recent announcement of potential closure of Atlantic Power, I thought it would be use full to look at some previous studies done on this topic. The following report was published in March 2018.
“Wood Based Biomass in British Columbia and its Potential for New Electricity Generation. Prepared for BC Hydro’s Long-Term Planning Process” Produced by MDT Management Decision and Technology Ltd. and Industrial Forestry Service Lt.
“The report is an update to a similar analysis report completed by the authors for BC Hydro in 2015. The analysis forecasts the availability of biomass fuels, with estimated cost, that might be used for new electricity generation projects from the year 2018 until 2042. The analysis was completed using the BC Fibre Model that links existing and forecast regional fibre supplies (i.e., logs, roadside logging waste and sawmill residues) throughout the Province, with historic and forecast fibre demands by the existing forest industry.
Provincial fibre supplies that are surplus to the demands of the forest industry were presumed to be available as potential biomass fuel for energy production. However, it should be noted that there can be other future competing uses for this biomass potential that are of higher value than electricity generation (e.g., wood pellets, biodiesel, biogas, combined heat and power), making the fibre availability for electricity production uncertain. “
I summarized the following information for the Cariboo region (one of 12 regions in the province).
“In 2017 there were eleven major sawmills, two veneer plants, one OSB plant, two pulp mills, one pellet plant (one is currently curtailed), a board plant and a large biomass-fired power plant in the region.
West Fraser Timber Ltd. is the largest regional operating company followed by Tolko Industries Ltd. The latest development in regard to the existing industry was the completion of a whole log chipping/grinding plant in Quesnel in late 2014. Created through a partnership between Tolko, Pacific Bioenergy and the Nazko First Nation, the plant has significantly improved the utilization of fibre salvaged from dead pine stands in the Quesnel area.
This improvement comes in the form of both increased recovery of sawlogs and through the creation of additional supplies of pulp chips and biomass fuel. Given the diversity of the residual fibre consuming industry that exists within this region (pulp mill, EPA, pellet plants and IPP), there is already more demand for residual sawmill fibre than available supply. In the face of the reduced sawmill activity forecast for the region and consequently a decline in the availability of residual fibre, all of the existing residual fibre consumers will need to either resort to increased consumption of roadside residual fibre, harvest and consume pulp logs, potentially switch to alternative sources of energy (such as natural gas in some power boilers), or curtail operations."
Since the report there have been a couple of possibilities for additional residual fibre production projects in the Cariboo. The wildfire fireguards have been producing some significant residual material which has been close to the power plant and there are some fireguards in the West Branch valley that are burning the harvested material on site. An updated study should also look at the potential of thinning some of the younger age classes which will improve timber quality and reduce the wild fire risk similar to what is being done in Finland. All of these projects should be funded through the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C.
