Prince George, B.C.- It has been more than a year since Pristine Power was given the green light to go ahead with the Green Energy co-gen plant in Mackenzie. In Prince George this week to address the Chamber of Commerce, Pristine’s Executive Vice President Harvie Campbell says the only thing holding that project back is a secure source of fibre.

 

Initially, the plant was supposed to use residue from the Mackenzie sawmills to create steam that would then be used to power up the Pope and Talbot pulp mill and provide power to the B.C. Hydro grid. So much has changed, what with the Pope and Talbot going bankrupt, the pulp mill being sold to Worthington, and the local sawmills closing down. “We are trying to determine a system where the plant can get access to fibre if the mills are shut down” says Campbell.

 

He says the issues around securing a fibre supply could be resolved in weeks “The project is shovel ready, we can go to construction this summer.”

 

The $200 million dollar Mackenzie Green Energy co-gen plant would create 200 construction jobs for two years and 26 full time jobs once the plant was up and running.

 

It could produce about 59 mega watts of power, enough to supply power to 50 thousand homes and pay about half a million dollars in property taxes annually to the District of Mackenzie.

 

In his address to the Prince George Chamber of Commerce, Campbell said Independent Power Producers are necessary to make the province energy self sufficient by 2016. 

When it comes to bio-energy facilities, he says they are a win- win for everyone involved “They create new demand for non marketable timber, create consistent forestry activity and they create new revenue and new investment opportunities for the industry itself.”

 

Campbell says B.C. has plenty of fuel for bio-energy, “More than 1.2 million tonnes of surplus mill residue is created annually, most of which is burned because at the current time, it has no commercial value. This amount alone could create 300 mega watts of power, enough electricity to supply 240 thousand homes.”

 

He pointed to the impact renewable power projects are having, noting that in Germany, 250 thousand jobs have been created over the past four years in that sector. In the United States, more than 50 wind energy manufacturing facilities are underway, creating 14 thousand jobs. “If there is a take away for you today, it is that world wide, IPP’s are driving economic growth, creating green collar jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions while delivering economic power.”

 

Campbell says B.C. needs about 10 thousand giga watts of energy to close the gap between what it uses and what it produces. “That gap is the equivalent of about two Site Cs, in addition there is growing demand for clean energy particularly in the transportation sector. Electric cars and plug in hybrids are due out on the market as early as next year, these vehicles hold the potential to reduce green house gasses, and improve our air quality but they have to have renewable power or you’ve wasted your time in terms of trying to reduce environmental emissions.”

 

In the last B.C. Hydro call for power projects saw 18 wind and 45 run of river projects. “These projects represent an investment of $15 billion dollars, 5,000 direct jobs and an eight year build out. The potential for dynamic clean energy in B.C. is almost limitless given our resources.”