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Weds., April 23, 2014 www.revelstoketimesreview.com Vol. 117, No. 17
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Hockey pool winner - 8
Could Revelstoke become home to a bioenergy facility? Alex Cooper
reporter@revelstoketimesreview.com
Revelstoke Mountain Resort was taken over by snowmobilers on the weekend for the first annual Revelstoke hill climb race, put on by the Western Canadian Hillcross Association. The event saw sledders go over a jump, corner a berm and then race through a gated course uphill to the top of the old ski resort. For more, see pages 8–9. Alex Cooper/Revelstoke Times Review
Imagine taking all the wood waste produced around Revelstoke — the waste from the mills and the slash piles in the backcountry that are burned in the fall — and converting that into usable energy. That is the proposal of John Christie, a business consultant who focuses on green technology development. He recently approached Revelstoke council and the Revelstoke Community Energy Corporation about new technologies that are used to convert wood waste into bioenergy. “It is changing quite quickly and I’m able to see the new technologies coming. I have clients who are very interested in them and I do the business case for them,” Christie told the Times Review. “There’s actually some good economic sense to do these new technologies. I just wanted to bring it to their attention and see if they’re interested in pursuing the next step.” Council paid attention to his pitch. They voted to contribute $15,000 from the Economic Opportunity Fund to have Christie prepare a request for proposal (RFP) for a bioenergy facility in Revelstoke. I spoke to Christie last week by phone to find out more about his proposal. He said Revelstoke, with its abundant wood waste — both from the mills and in the bush — is well positioned to be the site of a bioenergy facility that would convert that waste into a usable fuel. Christie mentioned two possibilities. The first was torrefied wood pellets — essentially a more energy dense form of wood that could be used for heating. “They increase the density of energy in wood products to make it much more economical for both the consumer and for a business to invest in,” he said. “There’s better margins.” The other techology he spoke of, and focused most on, was that of converting wood waste into a form of green diesel fuel The technology behind converting biomass to diesel is fairly new. The first plant to do so was opened by BioEnergy International, a green energy company, and OMV, an Austrian oil and gas company, in Austria in July 2012. The plant converts wood biomass into diesel fuel by heating it with heavy oil. According to the proponents, the fuel meets green energy standards without using crops that are needed for food production like ethanol fuel, which is mostly made from corn. According to Christie, the technology is nearing the point where it will soon be economically feasible to build a plant in Revelstoke. “Probably the most exciting new technology is making green diesel from biomass,” he said. “That’s just on the cusp. “I know the technology will work, it’s just a matter of who’s going to be first.” It is also scalable, so small plants could be built, Christie said. Preparing the RFP will require two steps. The first is a survey of potential participants to make sure there’s enough interest to warrant proceeding.
See bioenergy, page 15
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