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European energy giant wants proposed Miramichi plant to produce black pellets
MIRAMICHI - The construction of a proposed pellet plant in Miramichi is a little behind schedule, as plans for the facility have been tweaked in order to make way for what could be an exciting new technology.
Roughly one year ago the Northumberland County Woodlot Owners Association announced it had entered into a partnership with one of Europe's most powerful energy conglomerates to develop the plant near the association's office in Newcastle.
And although the initial projections to have the pellet plant built and in production by the end of this year have all but fallen through, the association's executive director Kevin Forgrave says that the project is still very much a go.
Forgrave said that Swedish energy mega power Vatenfall AB are still on board with the project, and noted that the delays can be summed up in two points: the project is still awaiting a decision on a Crown wood allocation from the provincial government, and the eventual product the plant will be churning out has changed.
Where the initial plan announced last April called for the construction of a typical wood pellet plant that produces the pellets you'd normally see in pellet stoves all around the province, the new objective is calling for a new type of pellet that you've probably never seen or heard of before.
Black pellets are a new technology that Vatenfall has been exploring in other jurisdictions, including British Columbia, and it's a product that is in high-demand in Europe to fuel coal-fired power plants, making them more Earth friendly.
"There are various technologies used to develop these black pellets, and what they do is change the characteristics of your wood, creating what's called green coal, and what happens is coal fired power plants are able to feed it in their system the same way they do coal," Forgrave said.
"So the plants, basically, don't need any major retrofitting - the technology is new and therefore it requires ample testing and setup."
Black pellets are created through a process that essentially chars wood into a charcoal-like substance, theoretically replacing coal with what a more environmentally friendly energy source made up almost entirely of biomass and waste wood.
Forgrave said he's confident that this black pellet technology, though new, is being spearheaded by the right people in Vatenfall.
He also added that although the pellet plant requires a small Crown wood allocation, the development will rely heavily on forestry byproducts, which provides a local market for sawmills to unload the undesirable parts of the trees they cut to an entity that will put them to good use.
Forgrave said he's extremely hopeful the Weyerhaeuser oriented strandboard and the former Atcon plywood mill are purchased and brought back into production, as the presence of those two mills could greatly contribute to the successes of the proposed black pellet plant.
"Those mills both produce byproducts, and a close local market would be very much a help to those products," Forgrave said.
"You can have a good fit here and help restore some of the forestry sector in the Miramichi area - once the Crown allocation is in place, I think it's relatively quick steps for everything else."
Speaking to the Times & Transcript, Miramichi director of economic development Jeff MacTavish said that the change in what the potential plant would ultimately be producing is an exciting development.
MacTavish added that the revelation of this so-called "green coal" made from black pellets could potentially be a solution to domestic power generation issues.
"If you look at what they're doing in Ontario right now, with the closure of all the coal plants, they're going to need one of two things: a replacement fuel or an alternative source of energy to balance off what wind produces, because wind produces a different type of energy than your base load power plants," MacTavish said.
"And what Kevin and those guys are proposing could be an answer to all of those issues."
The pellet mill aims to employ about 30 direct workers and create somewhere between 200 and 400 indirect jobs in the forestry sector, with a goal to produce around 200,000 tonnes of black pellet output each year.
That plan would be contingent on a modest Crown allocation, along with supply from private woodlot owners, and mill byproducts.
Forgrave said he's hopeful that the Department of Natural Resources sees the value of this project, and the importance of a Crown wood allocation to make it happen.
European energy giant wants proposed Miramichi plant to produce black pellets
MIRAMICHI - The construction of a proposed pellet plant in Miramichi is a little behind schedule, as plans for the facility have been tweaked in order to make way for what could be an exciting new technology.
Roughly one year ago the Northumberland County Woodlot Owners Association announced it had entered into a partnership with one of Europe's most powerful energy conglomerates to develop the plant near the association's office in Newcastle.
And although the initial projections to have the pellet plant built and in production by the end of this year have all but fallen through, the association's executive director Kevin Forgrave says that the project is still very much a go.
Forgrave said that Swedish energy mega power Vatenfall AB are still on board with the project, and noted that the delays can be summed up in two points: the project is still awaiting a decision on a Crown wood allocation from the provincial government, and the eventual product the plant will be churning out has changed.
Where the initial plan announced last April called for the construction of a typical wood pellet plant that produces the pellets you'd normally see in pellet stoves all around the province, the new objective is calling for a new type of pellet that you've probably never seen or heard of before.
Black pellets are a new technology that Vatenfall has been exploring in other jurisdictions, including British Columbia, and it's a product that is in high-demand in Europe to fuel coal-fired power plants, making them more Earth friendly.
"There are various technologies used to develop these black pellets, and what they do is change the characteristics of your wood, creating what's called green coal, and what happens is coal fired power plants are able to feed it in their system the same way they do coal," Forgrave said.
"So the plants, basically, don't need any major retrofitting - the technology is new and therefore it requires ample testing and setup."
Black pellets are created through a process that essentially chars wood into a charcoal-like substance, theoretically replacing coal with what a more environmentally friendly energy source made up almost entirely of biomass and waste wood.
Forgrave said he's confident that this black pellet technology, though new, is being spearheaded by the right people in Vatenfall.
He also added that although the pellet plant requires a small Crown wood allocation, the development will rely heavily on forestry byproducts, which provides a local market for sawmills to unload the undesirable parts of the trees they cut to an entity that will put them to good use.
Forgrave said he's extremely hopeful the Weyerhaeuser oriented strandboard and the former Atcon plywood mill are purchased and brought back into production, as the presence of those two mills could greatly contribute to the successes of the proposed black pellet plant.
"Those mills both produce byproducts, and a close local market would be very much a help to those products," Forgrave said.
"You can have a good fit here and help restore some of the forestry sector in the Miramichi area - once the Crown allocation is in place, I think it's relatively quick steps for everything else."
Speaking to the Times & Transcript, Miramichi director of economic development Jeff MacTavish said that the change in what the potential plant would ultimately be producing is an exciting development.
MacTavish added that the revelation of this so-called "green coal" made from black pellets could potentially be a solution to domestic power generation issues.
"If you look at what they're doing in Ontario right now, with the closure of all the coal plants, they're going to need one of two things: a replacement fuel or an alternative source of energy to balance off what wind produces, because wind produces a different type of energy than your base load power plants," MacTavish said.
"And what Kevin and those guys are proposing could be an answer to all of those issues."
The pellet mill aims to employ about 30 direct workers and create somewhere between 200 and 400 indirect jobs in the forestry sector, with a goal to produce around 200,000 tonnes of black pellet output each year.
That plan would be contingent on a modest Crown allocation, along with supply from private woodlot owners, and mill byproducts.
Forgrave said he's hopeful that the Department of Natural Resources sees the value of this project, and the importance of a Crown wood allocation to make it happen.
