A proposed bioenergy project in Tumbler Ridge remains a front-runner in a BC Hydro bid.
The five-megawatt power generating plant would utilize bio-oil, a fuel produced from logging waste and pine-beetle affected wood. Ainsworth Energy and the District of Tumbler Ridge submitted the proposal to the Community-Based Biomass Power Call on September 15, and are expecting to hear back from the Crown corporation in January.
It’s one of eleven remaining proposals after 44 were received from across the province in the request for qualifications, and the only one from northeast B.C. A power generation plant would likely be built in the town’s heavy industrial park, while a fuel production plant would be located somewhere else.
“The technology involves making a liquid fuel from biomass,” explained Mayor Larry White, adding the fuel would be an export commodity for industrial use. “It would be more than just a fuel supply for the generating plant.”
Earlier this year, Ainsworth Energy was engaging Canfor and West Fraser Timber in discussions about gaining access to logging debris on their tenures in the region. Under the proposal, the plant’s fibre supply could be supplemented by sawdust from the Canfor mill in Chetwynd.
Many details aren’t yet available, but it’s likely Ainsworth would need land close to the BC Hydro power substation located 10 km northwest of Tumbler Ridge, in order to lessen the costs of building an interconnection line. The production plant would also require space available to stockpile wood.
In addition to the Tumbler Ridge project, Ainsworth Energy has submitted applications for projects in 100 Mile House, Anahim Lake and Cache Creek.
Other applicants include Corix Utilities (for a project in Burnaby), ecoTECH Energy Group (for a McBride project), Fraser Richmond Soil and Fibre (for a Richmond project), Lytton First Nation (for a Lytton project), Revelstoke Community Energy Corporation (for a Revelstoke project), Nations Energy Corporation (for a Kamloops project), and Yun Ka Whu’ten Holdings (for a separate project in Anahim Lake).
The power call was introduced in April, and is intended to encourage community-level energy supply solutions using carbon-neutral biomass fuel sources, such as trees and wood chips, or renewable organic matter such as crops and manure. At least two projects will be selected to enter into negotiations, which may result in an electricity purchase agreement (EPA).
Not all projects require forest tenure, but those that do aren’t being penalized in the power call for not having supply agreements in place. BC Hydro clarified the matter in a September 8 note to applicants, some of whom were trying to secure forest tenures.
The Ministry of Forests and Range has since clarified they won’t allocate tenures until after an EPA is announced.
The Crown corporation will be giving “strong preference” to projects that demonstrate community benefits, near-term economic benefits, some degree of community ownership in the project, and breadth of community support.
A news release from Ainsworth Energy is expected within the next two weeks.
© 2010 Tumbler Ridge News
