Local sawmill to provide biomass to UNBC

Photos: UNBC

May 17, 2010, Prince George, BC – Lakeland Mills, a family owned sawmill in Prince
George, British Columbia, will be supplying bark and sawdust to the University
of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) to fuel a biomass gasification system. The
five-year biomass supply contract is worth about $1.7 million. The gasification
system is currently being installed at the Prince George campus by Nexterra
Systems Corp. of Vancouver and is scheduled to start later this year. When
operating, the system is expected to reduce UNBC’s reliance on fossil fuels by
85% and give the university the smallest carbon footprint of any university
core campus in Canada.

“This is
an exciting announcement for UNBC and for the community as we all work together
to make this region a national centre of excellence in a technologically
advanced, forest-based bioenergy industry,” says UNBC president Dr. George
Iwama. “Awarding this contract to a local company helps us to build our local
capacity in this industry while keeping the carbon footprint of our bioenergy
program – and the campus – to a minimum.”

The wood
fibre will come from the sawmill that is closest to the Prince George campus
and will be transported by Excel Transportation of Prince George. In addition,
the Lakeland sawmill uses trees that mostly originate from an area within a 70
km radius of Prince George. Currently, trees killed by the mountain pine beetle
account for about three-quarters of the mill’s intake. Lakeland is one of the
operations in the Sinclar Group, which also controls wood processing facilities
in Vanderhoof and Fort St. James, British Columbia.

Construction
of the $15 million bioenergy facility at the Prince George campus is being
undertaken by IDL Projects of Prince George. The governments of British
Columbia and Canada have provided funding through the Knowledge Infrastructure
Program, the Innovative Clean Energy fund, and the BC Public Sector Energy
Conservation Agreement.

The
Nexterra biomass gasification system represents phase two of the University’s
bioenergy program and follows the installation of a wood pellet facility at the
I.K. Barber Enhanced Forestry Laboratory. The wood pellet system has been in
operation for almost one year and has been supported by the government of
Canada and the Wood Pellet Association of Canada.