How Can Ontario Gain Advantage from its
Renewable Forest Resources?
Atikokan Bio-energy Research Centre
Carole Champion
OCE-Energy
April 27, 2009
Atikokan Bio-energy Research Centre
Background
• Ontario Budget Announcement 2006
$4M to establish a Bio-energy Research Centre associated with
Ontario Power Generation’s Atikokan Coal-fired Generating
Station
• Purpose
“Carry out research of practical relevance to the future of the
community and the province, and allow the station to continue to
be a source of employment for the community.”
Undertake and Encourage Research, Development and
Demonstration Relating to Co-firing Bio-feedstocks with Coal
2
Atikokan Bio-energy Research Centre
Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE)
OCE is the leading driver of the research to commercialization
process with a strategic focus on improving Ontario’s
competitiveness through innovation.
OCE Centre for Energy Role in the ABRC
• OCE to administer the Bio-energy Research Centre’s research
program including:
- managing the funding
- developing and coordinating the research program,
- working with co-funding agencies to leverage additional funding
- managing the research projects and effecting commercialization
of the results if appropriate
- providing progress reports to the Ministry of Energy and
Infrastructure.
3
Atikokan Bio-energy Research Centre
ABRC Program Scope
Long-term Sustainability of Atikokan G.S.
Economic Viability of Atikokan Community
Biomass
What’s available?
Inventory
Environmental Impact
Logistics
Harvesting,
transport,
drying, processing,
economics
Biomass Types
• Forest biomass
• Peat
• Crops for marginal lands
Atikokan G. S.
Storage, Injection,
Combustion optimization,
Products of combustion,
Effects on boiler, piping etc.
Emissions/By products
GHGs, Mercury
Fly ash
4
Atikokan Bio-energy Research Centre
ABRC Program Overview
Financial
• Total program: $8.6M
($4M seed funding from Ministry of Energy, $4.6M in cash and in-kind
contributions from partner organizations)
Research Institutions
• Six universities: Lakehead, Queen’s, University of Western Ontario,
McMaster, University of Toronto, Tohoku University, Japan
• Confederation College
• 29 faculty members
• 87 students (44 expected to find work in bio-energy sector after graduation)
Research Partners
• 29 partner organizations contributing $4.6M
• 23 individuals working with the academic researchers
5
Atikokan Bio-energy Research Centre
Potential Outcomes from the ABRC program
Technical
• Assessment of biomass availability for energy in NW Ontario
• Information to allow MNR, MoE to make decisions about the use of peat and forest waste
products.
• Use of marginal lands to assess new crops – e.g. poplar, willow
• Optimization of biomass types for co-firing, optimal percentage of coal:biomass ratios to
optimize combustion efficiency
• Information on wood pelletization and creating a business surrounding pelletization that could
be used as an economic model for other northern communities.
• Demonstration of new instrumentation to detect mercury emissions in the stack.
• Alternative uses for fly ash e.g. neutralization agent for acid mine drainage, data to influence
change in ASTM standards for allowable percentage of biomass residue in fly ash for inclusion
in concrete.
Other
• Strategic planning for the Atikokan community - tranferrable to other northern communities
• Students trained to work in the bio-energy sector
6
Atikokan Bio-energy Research Centre
Results to Date
Development of Transformative Technologies to Sustain the Atikokan Generating
Station by Utilizing Northwestern Ontario’s Abundant Bio-mass Resources
(3 related proposals)
1. Wood Biomass Procurement and Quality Enhancement for Energy
2. Environmental Effects of Wet-harvesting Peat as an Alternative Energy Source for the
Atikokan Generating Station
3. Cofiring Peat/Forest Biomass with Coal for Power Generation
4. Optimizing Ontario-based Wood Pellet Production for Co-firing and Market
Development and Penetration
5. Combustion Optimization Studies – Coal-Only Baseline & Co-fired Biomass Fuels
6. Monitoring Total Mercury Emissions from Atikokan Generating Station
7
Atikokan Bio-energy Research Centre
Opportunities?
1. Further development
of feedstock information
2. Biomass densification
– pellet specifications.
3. Turnkey renewable CHP systems for small, remote, or First
Nations Communities.
4. Identification of future work/synergy between other
initiatives e.g. CRIBE, Great Lakes Sustainable Energy
Consortium etc.
8
Acknowledgements
Ontario Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure
Township of Atikokan
Ontario Power Generation
Project Partners
Coming together is a beginning;
keeping together is progress;
working together is success.
Henry Ford