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MERRITT – Trace Resources is helping turn wood waste into
clean power by grinding slash and unsalvageable mountain pine beetle timber for
electricity production at the Domtar pulp mill in
“With companies like Trace, we’re turning the mountain pine beetle infestation into a bioenergy opportunity that will create jobs and meet our climate goals,” said Bell, as he toured Trace’s new grinding operations north of Merritt. “We’re seeing a whole new industry developing – an industry that leaves no piece of wood behind.”
Trace Resources formed in October 2008 in answer to new opportunities around the utilization of wood waste. Together with an affiliated company, Jaeden Resources, it recently put into operation two grinders and loaders worth $1.8 million.
Under two Forests for Tomorrow contracts, Trace will grind upwards of 20,000 cubic metres of small-diameter beetle-wood that was previously considered unusable. The company also holds a memorandum of understanding with Merritt-based Aspen Planers and BC Timber Sales Kamloops Timber Sales Office to collect and grind another estimated 50,000 cubic metres of slash leftover from traditional harvesting in the Cascades and Kamloops Forest Districts. Most of the material will be processed at Domtar’s cogeneration facility and transformed into electricity and some of the fibre is being used by the Lower Mainland greenhouse industry to heat their vegetable greenhouses, including the SunSelect Produce Inc. greenhouses in Aldergrove and Delta.
“The co-operation of licensees, BCTS operators, and Ministry of Forests and Range staff is critical in a venture like this, and we’re getting it in spades,” said Trace Resources partner Dan Eaton. “There’s a real willingness to do what’s best for the resource and the environment by looking at wood waste in a whole new light.”
When used to generate energy, wood waste is considered carbon-neutral because it releases no more carbon into the atmosphere than it absorbs during its lifetime. As a result, bioenergy can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere if it replaces non-renewable sources of energy.
Domtar Pulp and Paper Products submitted one of four successful proposals recently selected under BC Hydro’s Bioenergy Call for Power.
Supporting the development of new bioenergy opportunities is a key step in the BC Bioenergy Strategy. For more information on the strategy, or to download a copy, visit www.energyplan.gov.bc.ca/bioenergy.
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Contact: |
Vivian Thomas Communications Manager Ministry of Forests and Range 250 387-5728 |
Ron Racine Trace Resources 250 309-7707 |
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