BC Hydro Bioenergy Call - Phase II Announced (1,000 GW/h)

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Warren Brazier

Today, BC Hydro announced its much anticipated Phase II to its Bioenergy Call for Power.  You can read the BC Hydro news release here and you can check out the Bioenergy Call website for more information, or you can continue reading.... 

Under Phase II, BC Hydro will conduct a two-stream call process. The first stream is a competitive call for larger-scale biomass projects. Any form of biomass will be eligible and it will include wood waste sourced from new forest tenure enabled through provincial legislation in May 2008. The target is to acquire 1,000 GW/h per year of energy through this stream.  Good news for all of that roadside debris.

The second stream will focus on innovative, community-level electricity supply solutions using biomass. Through a request for qualifications (RFQ), BC Hydro will seek to identify at least two such projects that can provide cost-effective electricity for ratepayers, as well as other quantifiable, local benefits such as improved reliability.

BC Hydro also listed some new Q&A's which are typically updated by BC Hydro throughout the Call period. Here are some of the highlights:

Eligibility? Criteria for each stream are currently under development. More details will be provided by BC Hydro before the end of March 2009.

Timeline? More details on both streams will be released by BC Hydro by the end of March 2009. Draft documents for the first stream are expected to be issued in May 2009, while a schedule for the second stream is expected to be released by April 2009.

You can see our report on the results of the Phase I of the Bioenergy Call where four projects were successful.

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BC Bioenergy Network funds two wood waste pilot projects

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Warren Brazier

Yesterday, the $25-million provincially funded BC Bioenergy Network announced it is awarding almost $5 million in funding to two biomass pilot projects in British Columbia. 

The BC Bioenergy Network has awarded $1.82 million in funding to Lignol Innovations Ltd. and a further $3 million in funding to Nexterra Energy Corp.  Lignol uses biorefining technology to turn wood waste into fuel-grade bioethanol and biochemicals. Nexterra develops systems that turn wood waste into clean, renewable heat and power using biomass gasification technology.

The BC Bioenergy Network was established in April 2008 through a $25-million provincial grant. It is an industry-led association that is encouraging the development of world-class bioenergy research and technology, pilot and demonstration projects with industry and communities in key biomass resource areas. The BC Bioenergy Network has identified the following technology areas for funding support: solid wood residues, pulp and paper residues, harvesting and pelleting, agriculture residues, municipal wastewater, municipal landfill waste, municipal solid waste and community heating electricity greenhouse systems.

 

BC leads the country in energy production from biomass. Over 800 megawatts of biomass electricity capacity is installed in the province, enough to power 640,000 households. Pulp and paper mills meet over a third of their electricity needs through cogeneration of electricity and steam on site. In 2008, the BC wood pellet industry produced around one million tonnes of wood pellets, of which 90 per cent was exported for thermal power production overseas.

Making good use of wood waste is a no brainer for British Columbia, whose forest industry has been ravaged by the evil pine beetle. Taking the lead from the BC Energy Plan, industries are emerging to develop new and innovative uses of beetle-wood and other forest industry waste. As the bioenergy industry is discovering, there are incredible opportunities in BC and around the world for such techonology. Wouldn't it be great if this ultimately turns out to be a good news story in the forest industry.

 
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