Conifex gets bioenergy greenlight from BC Hydro
April 20, 2012
By
Scott Jamieson
April 20, 2012, Mackenzie, BC - Conifex Timber Inc. announced yesterday that the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) has approved its Electricity Purchase Agreement (EPA) with BC Hydro as an energy supply contract. The Company completed its EPA and related Load Displacement Agreement (LDA) with BC Hydro in June 2011.
Under the EPA, Conifex will supply a minimum of
approximately 200 GWh of electrical energy annually to BC Hydro over a
20-year term from its bioenergy generation plant which is currently in development adjacent to one of its
sawmill complexes in Mackenzie B.C. Delivery of electricity to the BC
Hydro grid is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2013.
Revenues from the project to Conifex's bioenergy segment are
expected to exceed $20 million annually when the bioenergy facility is
operating at design capacity.
Under the LDA, the company is required to deliver 30 GWh of
electrical energy annually to provide for the energy requirements of
Conifex's two Mackenzie sawmills over the term of the LDA. In exchange
for the company agreeing to make available such energy for its sawmills,
BC Hydro will provide incentive funding to be utilized towards the
completion of the bioenergy facility.
Ken Shields, Conifex president and chairman, commented:
"We are pleased to have received approval from the BCUC. With this
important milestone in place, we can now settle our budget, construction
and financing plans for the bioenergy facility on a priority basis and
work towards the re-start of our Site I Mackenzie sawmill in 2013."
The bioenergy facility will create approximately 80 jobs
during the 15-month construction period and over 20 new jobs upon
completion. The expected energy generation of approximately 230 GWh of
net energy per year is enough to power 24,000 BC homes annually.
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