PEI Ministers tour bioenergy projects

Jan. 12, 2010, Charlottetown, PEI – A recent ministerial tour of four privately operated
biomass facilities will give the government valuable information on the potential
and challenges of using farm and forest products as an energy source, says Prince Edward Island's Environment,
Energy, and Forestry Minister Richard Brown. The January 7 fact-finding tour
included Minister Brown, along with Innovation and Advanced Learning Minister
Allan Campbell, Agriculture Minister George Webster, and employees of the respective
departments. Staff from the Department of Transportation and Public Works also
took part.

“This province is interested in seeing whether biomass – from agriculture or forestry
– can be a valuable energy resource. But we are also interested in seeing
whether this resource can be developed in an environmentally responsible
manner,” says Minister Brown. “By seeing facilities in operation, by looking at
the emissions from biomass projects, and by looking at the sustainability of
biomass fuel supplies, we can make informed decisions about how and if these
kinds of projects should be pursued on Prince Edward Island.”

The tour included stops at North Winds Inn and Suites, Artz Farm, Vanco Farms, and
Royalty Hardwoods. The featured systems included both imported and
Island-developed combustion systems that burn fuels such as grains, straw, wood
shavings, and sawdust.

“It is important to find out what technology is available in the marketplace,” says
Allan Campbell, minister of innovation and advanced learning and the minister
responsible for Innovation PEI. “Alternative energy is presenting new
opportunities for the global manufacturing sector, and by participating in
fact-finding tours in our own province, we will be in a better position to
develop a strategy to compete and create new jobs.”