TOPIC 'Bioenergy' on Dec 12, 2008 (CET)
Bioenergy Is The Beginning Of A Brand New Industry in Prince George
A new industry is on the horizon, thanks to biomass and understanding the uses for it as a renewable energy resource. Pine Star Logging in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, is discovering a completely new business by converting wood waste to wood pellets for use as bioenergy.
Pine Star Logging Company recently invested $750,000 in a grinding machine for wood waste. The company grinds wood waste for Pacific BioEnergy, which has transactions in the wood pellet market. Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell noted that the combination of both processes from Pine Star Logging and Pacific Bioenergy are shining example of the forest’s future with regard to wood bioenergy. It is a newly arrived industry and it shows great promise for the future.
The wood grinding machine is referred to as a “hog.” The hog consumes sawdust, shavings, tree bark, logging residue, lumber rejects, and low-grade lumber from saw mills, plywood plants, and pulp mills. The hog is portable and can be easily transported to the site where it is needed. Pacific BioEnergy accepts only wood waste fibre from forests that practice sustainable management forestry techniques.
Pine Star Logging has worked to create the equivalent of the scenario, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Pine Star Logging is taking wood waste and producing something beneficial from it. It enhances and contributes to the environment while saving jobs and creating a new path for the forest industry. Pine Star has been given a lot of credit by Minister Pat Bell as a small, local company finding new and innovative ways of playing a significant role in helping British Columbia become “greener.”
As well, Pacific BioEnergy plays an important role because, with the help of local companies like Pine Star Logging, it can help utilize forest debris by turning it into energy instead of burning it. Burning logging debris increases fine particulates released into the atmosphere. By utilizing forest debris, turning it into energy, the quality of the air should improve as well.
Utilizing wood waste to produce energy is considered “carbon-neutral” because it does not add to the amount of carbon particulates in the atmosphere. This occurs because the process of turning the waste into energy does not release any more carbon into the atmosphere than it has taken in from the atmosphere during its life. Therefore, it is considered carbon-neutral and in harmony with the environment.
Sherry Irvin
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany
