Power Solution Proposed to Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic

Feedstock Availability and Power Costs Associated with Using BC’s Beetle-Infested Pine
Amit Kumar, Peter C. Flynn, Shahab Sokhansanj
November 3, 2005

In April 2005, the authors issued an initial report on the feedstock availability and cost of producing electricity from surplus Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) killed trees in the Province of British Columbia. The report generated considerable discussion and the project was considered sufficiently attractive to warrant a reanalysis. This second report reflects the wide range of comments received, as well as insights gained from a site visit to the world’s largest biomass power generation facility at the Alholmens plant in Pietarsaari, Finland.

British Columbia’s Beetle Infested Pine: Biomass Feedstocks for Producing Power
Amit Kumar, Shahab Sokhansanj, Peter C. Flynn
April 30, 2005

Tackling the Mountain Pine Beetle crisis in British Columbia can create economic and energy benefits for the province and Canada as a whole, a newly released report commissioned by the BIOCAP Canada Foundation has concluded.

Infestation of British Columbia’s interior pine forests by the Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) has reached epidemic proportions. Innovative solutions to the crisis are required if the insect is to be prevented from changing the face of Canada’s extensive forests. BIOCAP, in conjunction with the Government of British Columbia’s Ministry of Forests, is pleased to release the report British Columbia’s Beetle Infested Pine: Biomass Feedstocks for Producing Power. The report, jointly authored by Post-Doctoral Fellow Amit Kumar and Adjunct Professor Shahab Sokhansanj of the University of British Columbia and Peter Flynn of the University of Alberta, suggests that the establishment of a 300MW power plant in the interior of BC could use a substantial portion of damaged wood while stimulating rural economies and reaping the rewards of clean energy.

The authors found that power can be produced using beetle-infested pine at a cost of only $61.88 per MWh. This calculation does not include the anticipated benefits of reducing the risk of forest fires from standing, dry, beetle-ravaged wood. From a climate change perspective, the use of biomass (wood) to produce power results in a significant reduction of net greenhouse gas emissions compare to fossil fuels.

Site Visit to Alholmens 240 MW Power Plant Pietarsaari, Finland
Peter C. Flynn and Amit Kumar
August 29 - September 3, 2005

In the discussions that followed the first stage report concerns were raised about the technical viability of a large scale wood based power plant. One element of a second stage study was therefore to visit the world’s largest power plant designed to run on biomass, which is located at the Alholmens Plant in Pietarsaari, Finland. This plant has a nominal gross rating of 240 MW and is designed to run on 100% biomass (wood, wood waste and peat) and 100% coal, and any combination thereof. It produces power both for internal use in the pulp and lumber mill and for export to the Nordpool grid, and has the capability to export low quality heat for use in the Pietarsaari district heating system.

For more information, contact:

Peter C.Flynn, PhD
Poole Chair in Management for Engineers
University of Alberta
Tel: (780) 492-6438
Email: peter.flynn@ualberta.ca

Lisa Doulas
Communications Manager
BIOCAP Canada
Tel: (613) 542-0025 Ext. 31
Email: doulasl@biocap.ca

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Beetle kill usable
By Tom Fletcher
Quesnel Observer
Feb 19 2006

A proposal to build a power plant that would burn beetle-killed trees is being considered, Energy Minister Richard Neufeld says.

“My understanding is that burning straight wood is an expensive way to generate electricity. But there are some consequences to just leaving the wood stand, so we have to look at that in the best interests of British Columbia.”

The study was conducted last year by engineering faculty at the University of Alberta, funded by the B.C. government and BIOCAP Canada Foundation, a non-profit research organization looking for solutions to climate change using forests and farmlands.

It found power plants built in severe pine beetle-infested areas of Quesnel and Nazko in the central Interior could produce electricity competitive with other “green” power sources.

Researchers assumed trees would be skidded to the roadside, where the entire tree would be chipped and then trucked to the power plant to fire boilers for power generation.

“Our study shows that a large-scale power plant using about seven per cent of the tree biomass killed in the infestation could provide central B.C. with 300 megawatts of power for the next 20 years,” says Prof. Amit Kumar, lead author of the study.

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