NewPage, NSPI to Develop Biomass Co-Gen Plant at Port Hawkesbury Mill

Print this article | Send to Colleague

NewPage, Miamisburg, Ohio, USA, announced this week that it will co-develop a new 60 MW biomass co-generation facility at its Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, mill (Port Hawkesbury Corp.) in partnership with Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI), Halifax, Nova Scotia. The development entails an NSPI investment of $200 million, including $93 million in construction costs for new facilities, $80 million to purchase assets from NewPage, and other related costs. NewPage will be responsible for construction and operation of the co-generation facility and completely responsible for fuel supply. Targeted startup is late 2012.

Only "stem wood" will be used in the project's biomass energy generation. Tree stumps, tops, and branches will not be removed from the forest floor, NewPage notes, "as they are necessary in restoring nutrients in the soil so new trees can grow."

The proposed co-generation project represents another important step toward meeting Nova Scotia's renewable energy commitments while at the same time creating and sustaining jobs in the province. The local biomass fueled co-generation facility could supply Nova Scotians with approximately 400 GWh annually, representing approximately 3% of the province's total electricity requirement. The project is expected to create an estimated 150 new jobs in Northern Nova Scotia, primarily in the forestry sector, in addition to maintaining the Port Hawkesbury mill's existing workforce of approximately 550 employees. Approximately 50 person-years of employment will also be created during the construction phase.

"This co-generation project is one more step in our continuing journey to make the Port Hawkesbury mill the most energy efficient and environmentally sustainable in the industry," said Bill Stewart, drector, Woodlands and Strategic Initiatives, NewPage Port Hawkesbury. "This will help the Port Hawkesbury mill move towards elimination of fossil fuel use at our mill site." The Port Hawkesbury mill has the capacity to produce 190,000 metric tpy of standard and improved newsprint and 360,000 metric tpy of SC papers for the catalogue and magazine paper markets. The company's Woodlands Unit currently manages approximately 600,000 hectares of Crown land in the seven eastern counties and an additional 20,020 hectares of company-owned land.