Low value wood waste is being utilized a lot more frequently in Fort Saint James these days.
With funding from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC), uneconomic residual fibre is being delivered from locations farther from town to BioNorth Energy, a joint venture partnership between Arrow Group of Companies, the Nak’azdli First Nation, and Nexus PMG.
The project, which began in the fall of 2023, will finalize this winter, helping reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere
while also generating economic and social benefits for the community.
“I want to commend the work of Arrow, NDC and Nexus PMG,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests.
“By getting residual fibre out of our forests and into the hands of those who need it and can use it, they are creating jobs and revenue from what would have once been waste. During times of uncertainty, they show that by working together, the forest sector and communities can have a major impact in ensuring forestry workers continue to have stable and steady jobs.”
The project focuses on grinding residual logging debris into feedstock for BioNorth Energy, a 40-mega-watt biomass power
generation plant in Fort St. James.
“We have completed grinding projects within a 3-hour drive of BioNorth Energy. We grind approximately 200,000 cubic metres worth of slash piles every year that are used to produce clean energy,” explained Greg Kilba, Division Manager, Portable Wood Processing and Log Buyer at Arrow.
“Historically, many of these waste piles would have been outside of our economic zone and would have traditionally been burnt by industry and government.”
The estimated fibre utilization from this project is equivalent to 4,635 truckloads.
By grinding these slash piles that would otherwise be burnt, collaborators are taking action on climate change.
“The total greenhouse gas emissions avoided as a result of this work is 36,191 tonnes of avoided emissions, which is the equivalent of 7,817 vehicles off the road,” added Chris McGourlick, RPF, Operations Manager with the Forest Enhancement Society of BC
The slash piles are now being utilized to create green energy adding value to the community by creating jobs for local community members and supporting primary services like the BioNorth facility, as well as secondary services such as tire shops and gas stations.
The total project funding amounted to $1,867,000, which helped cover the cost of delivering the fibre to the facility.
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