Welcome to Atlantica
Report outlines bioenergy ambitions on a regional scale

by David Lindsay
A report released in December 2008 argues that Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Maine must cooperate to develop an integrated bioenergy industry for the region, and makes a number of specific policy recommendations to ensure this happens.
The 74-page document is the result of a six-month study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers on behalf of the Atlantica BioEnergy Task Force, which comprises 22 "stakeholders," including educational institutions, major energy and forest industry players, and the governments of the three jurisdictions.
"Resources must be focused and a common vision established" if this region is to become a leader in the bioenergy sector, the report says. This is important "to help stabilize the volatility within the forestry sector and to prepare the region for the emerging bioeconomy."
One of the stated principles is giving priority to the use of biomass for adding value and maintaining the competitiveness of existing forest industries. So there's no threat of a takeover here, though there are warnings that things must change. A new guiding framework is deemed necessary because, despite having a valuable primary resource, the forest industry has suffered setbacks due to economic pressures.
"Over the past decade, the region's competitive advantage has gradually deteriorated to a point where the industry is challenged to attract new investment. These challenges include high log costs and wage costs, as well as energy costs that are above average."
The report says with the forest products sector currently "in survival mode," or "in some cases, in a state of decline," it needs investment in new bioenergy technologies. "The alternative could be industry collapse because of mill closures, with subsequent effects experienced throughout the supply chain."

TECHNOLOGIES
The study examined 25 bioenergy technologies, and chose four that offer the most promise for the region. The first is integrated biomass refineries, producing Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) liquids, described as "diesel-type" fuel. This would require large amounts of capital, but offers good prospects for return on investment, greenhouse gas reductions, and job creation.
The second recommended technology is impregnating wood chips with an oxalic acid solution prior to thermomechanical pulping (TMP), resulting in reduced energy requirements for pulp production, less bleach used, creation of stronger fibers, and lower proportion of purchased kraft pulp required. The benefits would accrue to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where TMP mills are located.
Along the same lines, but favoring plants in Maine rather than the Maritime provinces, is the third technology: value prior to pulping (VPP) for hardwood kraft mills, i.e., treating hardwood chips to extract sugars which can be used to make products such as ethanol and acetic acid, with the added benefit of reducing bleach use and energy demand.
The fourth technology highlighted is torrefaction, whereby biomass is heated to 200-300 degrees C in the absence of oxygen, concentrating its energy content and releasing gas which can be used for process heat. Torrefied pellets have properties similar to coal, i.e. high density, high grindability, and imperviousness to moisture, resulting in 50-60 percent lower logistics costs than conventional wood pellets. This "biocoal" could be used for industrial purposes, electrical generation, home heating, or "advanced gasification" to produce more refined fuels.
While the first three in this list are "add-on" technologies to improve efficiency at existing wood processing facilities, torrefaction is defined as a standalone concept with the potential to create "a world-class sustainable thermochemical-based biofuels and bioproducts industry, satisfying a substantial part of the region's energy and chemical product demand in the process."
With current technology, the best economy of scale is estimated to be achieved with an individual torrefaction module producing 60,000 tonnes per year ­ at a project cost of $4.9 million, with payback time ranging from one year (if torrefied pellets are substituting for heating oil in the energy market) to four years (if the product is displacing coal). Smaller plants, down to 15,000 tonne per year, are estimated to have 10 percent higher operating costs.

POLICY
One of the fundamental hurdles for the bioenergy industry in this region, as highlighted in this report, is the fact that non-renewable fuels such as oil and coal are currently cheaper, and may remain so for some time. "Without a change in policy that will support the shift from carbon-based energy to renewable energy, it is unlikely the market will respond on its own."
In its search for effective policies, the study looked at recent initiatives elsewhere in Canada and the U.S., and also in New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. Following the principle of "ensuring all biomass is used in areas with the highest value and highest energy efficiency processes," without diminishing existing forest industries, the report recommends broadening energy policies to stimulate the production of bioenergy, biochemicals, and biofuels from wood fiber.
There are more specific recommendations related to operational issues, including the implementation of sustainable forest management strategies "to improve forest growth and support landowners and contractors in developing efficient approaches to biomass harvesting." The report also calls for biomass harvesting guidelines, regularly updated biomass inventories, and improved transportation infrastructure to ensure the product can be moved efficiently.
Another infrastructure requirement is transmission and distribution capacity for new biomass-generated electricity. And to get the juice flowing, "targeted utility calls for co-generated biomass electricity" ­ which could be incorporated in federal carbon regulation strategies, and applied to regulated carbon markets.
Financial tools listed include support for early adoption of mill technologies to reduce greenhouse gases, and fuel tax exemptions or credits for local wood-based fuel feedstock. Then there are the collaborative initiatives: establishing a regional bioenergy network; linking research programs at universities in the region; and launching a program to build bioenergy pilot plants in partnership with industry, post-secondary institutions, and government agencies.

COMMITMENT
It sounds like a tall order. If the success of the bioenergy industry depends on all these things coming to pass, is it a realistic prospect?
"That's the reason the Atlantica Task Force found so much traction," says executive director Thor Olesen. "There was a need for this."
Olesen, who is president of a company called Sustain - Coaching and Consulting, based in Fredericton, N.B., says there is broad agreement on the destination, and it's now a case of choosing a route.
"We engaged in the process to see what would be the most reasonable pathway to see these things happen in the region. Some nay-sayers may say there are no opportunities today, but they are developing. I would refute that. There are opportunities today. There are large issues to tackle, but you can address them. We have to develop a will to do it. The study developed options."
Olesen cites the example of British Columbia's $25 million Bioenergy Network. "They said, 'Go make bioenergy happen in this region.' We don't have that kind of action happening today, but I'm confident that we will."
Olesen isn't holding his breath for that kind of endowment, but he hopes to hear by mid-March about renewed funding for the Atlantica Task Force. "We're asking each of the governments to contribute a fairly modest budget so we can do this for three more years, so we can be advocates for real projects. We could go out and do feasibility, we would bring in partners."
He says this kind of collaboration, even across borders, holds tremendous promise for the industry, but it requires commitment from the individual players.
"All stakeholders in the conversation have to make what I would consider significant moves. The local markets need to develop; right now the sheer economics will not get people going. The market develops through policy ­ small in the beginning and then growing over time. It's a fundamental shift in the corporate direction for many companies, it's a fundamental shift for government policy. If we're not going to be left behind ­ it's now a matter of not losing ground, let alone being leaders ­ we have to work together as a region. We can't go back to our corners and do our own thing."

Atlantica BioEnergy Task Force

Province of Nova Scotia
Province of New Brunswick
The State of Maine
Emera
NB Power
PricewaterhouseCoopers
JD Irving Ltd
AV Group
Groupe Savoie
AbitibiBowater
NewPage Corp
University of New Brunswick
Dalhousie University
University of Maine
FP Innovations
Maine Pulp and Paper Association
Maine Forest Products Council
Forest Products Association of Nova Scotia
New Brunswick Forest Products Association
NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada)
BioAtlantech
New Brunswick Innovation Foundation
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Bangor Hydro