Bioenergy in B.C. Should Be Slam Dunk
By 250 News
Thursday, June 10, 2010 03:56 AM
Prince George, B.C. – Using his experience as a basketball coach, finance expert Reg Renner says when it comes to developing the use of biomass for energy, it is like “playing a bunch of tall guys”.
Using a very conservative estimate, Renner says the forests of B.C. have the potential to provide $62 billion dollars worth of energy. Yet, Renner says too many communities back away from the idea of using bio energy because of unfounded excuses.
First of all, he says people need to be told using biomass is not about filling some burner with a bunch of green timber and belching out smoke “We are talking about modern technology, we’re talking about computer controls, automatic ash disposal, in fact we’re talking about computer controls that will send a message to your blackberry if something is wrong”. He says people are also concerned about sustainability, “I used to be in silviculture, and we do know how to grow trees.”
“We are living in the age of skepticism” says Renner, “ there is a lack of knowledge and a lack of educated debate, there is misinformation and there have been failures in the past.” Renner says some areas are stalled because of those past failures “Yellowknife will soon have 12 biomass facilities , providing heat to a number of buildings including their legislature. Whitehorse has one, it operated once for 15 minutes in 1987 and their whole system is stalled on that one mistake.”
Renner says he worries that B.C. is waiting for someone to step up to the plate and hit a home run with a bio energy facility. He says he finds it hard to understand that while a country like Austria, with an annual allowable cut that is about 25% of the annual allowable cut in B.C, has 1200 community heating systems and bio mass now provides 50% of the thermal energy needed in that country. In B.C. there are just 3 community heating systems ( Prince George hopes to become the 4th) and there are 25 single systems for greenhouses and institutions.
The Bioenergy conference continues today in Prince George.
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Posted by: govsux on June 10 2010 8:37 AM
Dont forget it was the Gas Industry and the Government who sold us on the idea of cheap natural gas, and electricity. All our houses and business's are now piped for gas and wired for elecricity. Why wuld we go for a third option????
If this is such a great idea, then why are we looking at building Site 2, and putting up power lines on Highway 37. We may as well just use Bio Energy, and locate these energy plants in strategic areas.
Could the plan be to have us use this BS Bio Energy, and then we can sell all our Gas, and Electricity to the Americans, and we are back to wood and water???