By 2014 all Ontario Coal electricity generating plants will be decommissioned and taken off line by the Ontario government.  Well, that’s the tentative plan.  As I wrote last week, the schematics of replacing 6 500 Mw of power are quite daunting given that no new nuclear plants are on the government’s radar at the present moment.  My assumption that the government is moving towards a natural gas replacement for coal, under the guise of a ‘renewable energy revolution’, may have been a little pre-mature.  Today I received the new Power Workers Union ads from a colleague and was immediately intrigued by PWU President Don MacKinnon suggestion that by coupling our nuclear advantage with our potential biomass capabilities we could secure and promote a clean energy future for decades to come.  But what exactly is biomass?

According to Ontario Power Generation (OPG) biomass is plant material from agricultural and forest sources that can be used to produce energy. It can take the form of harvested plant material or by-products of processing operations like wood chips, grain milling by-products and crop stover or stubble.  As plants grow carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change, is absorbed from the atmosphere. When they are used to make electricity the carbon dioxide stored by the biomass is released. No new greenhouse gases are produced making biomass fuel ‘carbon neutral’ and better than fossil fuels which are major contributors in climate change. 2009 University of Toronto study contracted by the OPG found that if the Nanatoike Coal generating station were to be fueled by 100% biomass products the Co2 emissions would be reduced by 90%.

Co-firing has been studied and tested by the OPG since 2006 but OPG will likely convert Atikokan to 100 per cent biomass by 2012, with some units at Nanticoke likely to follow a year later. Lambton and Thunder Bay plants are also being considered.  It seems odd to me that with all the focus on wind, and solar installations across the province biomass, an option that would create thousands of full time jobs in Ontario from the by creating a new supply chain for biomass materials – transportation, storage management, forestry/regrowth management, pellatization etc.  It would also maintain at some of the jobs in the coal generating industry that would be lost if the plants were to be shut down permanently.  In terms of grid management biomass generation is, like coal and natural gas, easily ramped up and reduced making it a perfect ‘peak’ energy source.  The problem may lay in the price.  The U of T article suggested that bio-mass electricity generation would be around $0.12/kwh making it non-competitive with natural gas.  But this could all change.  Natural gas, like any commodity is partial to massive price shifts.  Bio-mass would not be, considering that it is a closed cycle reprocessing material,  when we cut down trees or harvest crops we replant them ensuring sustainably and  a relatively linear price structure.  Also because of its carbon neutrality, should a carbon pricing structure be implemented in Ontario/Canada/North America (come on already!!!), biomass will retain extra value.

The promise of biomass is exciting when you consider the extent of Ontario’s agricultural and timber industries.  Because of this promise the  OPG and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), with the support of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MEI), have initiated a project to coordinate the analysis of the feasibility of a commercial agricultural biomass industry for the production of combustion energy in Ontario.  The project is being led by a Steering Committee representing a cross section of agriculture, industry, academic and government experts. Under their direction, the project will examine the role agricultural biomass might have in producing power and heat to help reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, to help meet Ontario’s climate change commitments and to help meet renewable energy targets. They will also tackle the gaps in research, economic analysis and infrastructure development that will need to be addressed prior to government decisions about fostering the development of this industry.

One hopes that the massive study initiative undertaken by this multi-headed bureaucratic beast will be positive, it would be a huge boost to the Ontario power energy future if the promise of  biomass can be economically realized.
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