Canfor Pulp Signs Carbon Offset Deal

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 09:11 AM

Prince George, B.C.- Canfor Pulp has signed a deal with Pacific Carbon Trust for a multi-year, carbon offset project that will generate up to 80,000 tonnes in CO2e reductions.

"Canfor Pulp has made significant investments over the past two decades to reduce its carbon footprint," said Canfor Pulp president and CEO Joe Nemeth.

"Between 1990 and 2010, Canfor Pulp has reduced its carbon emissions by nearly 40 per cent. We are pleased that Pacific Carbon Trust has taken a leadership role in Canada, to provide a vehicle that financially recognizes proactive investments that further reduce carbon emissions."

Located at the Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George, the aggregated emission-reduction project has three component sub-projects:

* Installation of a side stream scrubber allows the mill to achieve higher biomass-fuel-burn rates, supporting a reduction in the burning of natural gas.

* Equipment improvements to the biomass delivery systems will reduce the need to supplement the fuel supply with natural gas, resulting in reduced greenhouse-gas emissions.

* Major upgrades to the recovery boiler will increase mill pulp production, improve combustion efficiency, increase internal electricity generation and reduce steam requirements from the mill's power boilers.

Collectively, these improvements will also significantly reduce sulphur and particulate emissions.

Under the agreement, Pacific Carbon Trust will purchase all third-party-verified offsets originating from the project from 2010 to 2012, with future purchases dependent on the parameters of any cap and trade systems developed at the regional or national levels.

The anticipated reduction of up to 80,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases over the initial three-year period of the contract is equivalent to taking 20,997 cars off the road for one year or saving 34,064,826 litres of gasoline.

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Posted on Wednesday, June 16, 2010 09:11 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: DPJ on June 16 2010 10:19 AM

nice to hear this.

Posted by: faxman on June 16 2010 10:36 AM

Pacific Carbon Trust is a crown corporation. This smells like more corporate welfare to me. The only green I see is the money flowing from the taxpayers to Canfor.

Posted by: Dearth on June 16 2010 11:02 AM

I bet PACHA will find a way to say the deal doesn't go far enough.

Posted by: He spoke on June 16 2010 11:02 AM

The fact of the matter is, Faxman, we all have been surviving on the government funding for the last 18 months. Only the gas and oil has been standing alone.

Posted by: gus on June 16 2010 11:08 AM

It is corporate welfare. These plants have not been upgraded to run more efficiently and may otherwise soon price themselves out of the market.

The way it looks to me, I am sure in oversimplified terms, is that the government is helping them to prolong the agony for a few more years with a subsidy (carrot) rather than a raise in the price of energy (stick).

Posted by: gus on June 16 2010 11:09 AM

Hey Dearth, I would not bet on it. This has nothing to do with air quality. Go chase some other windmills.

Posted by: interceptor on June 16 2010 11:15 AM

quote from the story "Collectively, these improvements will also significantly reduce sulphur and particulate emissions"

quote from Gus "This has nothing to do with air quality."

;-)

Posted by: govsux on June 16 2010 11:54 AM

I believe these mills have done quite a bit to improve efficiencies, and are also some of the lowest cost producers in the world. They have made strides in cleaning up their emissions. But, they are also bumping up production significantly. I would agree with the corporate welfare, but it pales when compared to the handouts oil and gas get. Right now at pulp close to record highs, these mills are quite capable of standing on their own. Profits can be seen when one looks at the payout monthly to trust unit holders (cfx.un)

Posted by: Maverick on June 16 2010 11:56 AM

Gus, how do you figure the mills have not been upgraded. Granted they currently are not but these projects are approved and paid for. Construction has started.

Posted by: szd on June 16 2010 12:00 PM

"It is corporate welfare. These plants have not been upgraded to run more efficiently and may otherwise soon price themselves out of the market."

This plant is running better than it ever has actually, breaking one production record after another the past 6 months. We are the lowest cost producer for NBSK in North America and are continually improving all aspects of the plant. The market is great as Chili lost 3 mills due to the earthquake and will be for some time to come. We use very little gas actually and with the new upgrades we will be using even less, burning hog and black liquor is the primary source of power for the mill. There are times when we actually put electricity back into the grid and we don't even get paid for it. Subsidizing BC Hydro customers like you. They even have free tours in the summer which you should take before writing your comments here.

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on June 16 2010 12:01 PM

"It is corporate welfare. These plants have not been upgraded to run more efficiently and may otherwise soon price themselves out of the market. "

The continuing upgrades in these mills to modern DCS technology have increased efficiency and reduced emissions year after year.

They also reduced chemical consumption and waste.

For those not aware of it perhaps a guided plant tour or two would provide some better grasp of what these mills have achieved compared to a couple of decades ago.

Some portion of the costs may be due to government grants, but is it better to see our mills unable to compete with those elsewhere which thrive and depend on regular government subsidies - like south of the border?

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on June 16 2010 12:02 PM

You read my mind, szd! Good job!

Posted by: herbster on June 16 2010 12:38 PM

Canfor just got 160 million of taxpayers dollars to upgrade boilers, and now they are getting more taxpayer dollars because their boilers are more efficient? When does the gravy train end? Taxpayers should be getting paid back for their investment, not shelling out more.
Corporate welfare cannot be justified by American subsidies (which have ended). Otherwise its a race to the bottom, with taxpayers footing the bill, and corporations getting rich.

Posted by: metalman on June 16 2010 12:52 PM

Some people just don't or can't read.
That is the only explanation for some of the inane comments that are posted.
metalman.

Posted by: gus on June 16 2010 2:13 PM

Interceptor ... the primary purpose of the changes at Northwood are not to improve air quality. Any changes in emissions dealing with air qulity are secondary.

While the Northwood pulp mill operations have the larges particulate emissions of the pulp mills in town, the mill is also the furthest from the city. Testing some years ago has shown the mill has little effect on the inhabited areas north of the Nechako. are secondary The primary purpose is to improve efficientcy of operations.

The mill is 7.5 km from Plaza 400. The other two and Husky are 2.5 to 3.0 km.

Lakeland, where the city community energy system boiler is going to be is 1km btw.
--------------------
"Canfor Pulp has made significant investments over the past two decades to reduce its carbon footprint," said Canfor Pulp president and CEO Joe Nemeth."

Yes, virtually all of them have been at the plant closest to town.

Look at the Canadian pollution release inventory to see how much Northwood is putting out. It is a good indicator of how much the plant has been upgraded versus the other two.

PM10 - 905 tonnes/year
PM2.5 - 591 tonnes/year
http://www.ec.gc.ca/pdb/websol/querysite/facility_substance_summary_e.cfm?opt_npri_id=0000001797&opt_report_year=2008

The two Prince George Pulp Mills
PM10 - 395 tonnes/year
PM2.5 - 276 tonnes/year.
http://www.ec.gc.ca/pdb/websol/querysite/facility_substance_summary_e.cfm?opt_npri_id=0000004063&opt_report_year=2008

The PG plants put out 15 tonnes of formaldehyse which is twice the amount that Northwood puts out.

Posted by: gus on June 16 2010 2:30 PM

maverick wrote:

"Gus, how do you figure the mills have not been upgraded"

I am talking about Northwood and the aggregated emission-reduction project.

Here is the NPRI page tht shows the figures for PM10 and PM2.5 releases at Northwood over a 7 year period:

http://www.ec.gc.ca/pdb/websol/querysite/facility_history_e.cfm?opt_npri_id=0000001797&opt_report_year=2008

2002 - 598 tonnes
2003 - 713 tonnes
2004 - 799 tonnes
2005 - 536 tonnes
2006 - 597 tonnes
2007 - 603 tonnes
2008 - 591 tonnes

They were putting out the same in 2002 as they were in 2008 and I would think right now. After the upgrade, they will likely be lower, but it will also likely not have an affect on the airshed in PG and the monitor at Plaza 400 due to the distance they are from town.

Posted by: Maverick on June 16 2010 3:04 PM

YEAH....and the article which MOST people are commenting on is referring to upgrades that are occurring in the next 2 years....NOT between 2002 and 2008. The carbon offset deal has to do with projects being work on NOW not previously.

Posted by: szd on June 16 2010 4:20 PM

The other thing to look at in relation to the PM10 and PM2.5 releases is the amount of tonnage produced that year, I think you will find that the PM per ton produced has also been significantly reduced.

Posted by: szd on June 16 2010 4:39 PM

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on June 16 2010 5:58 PM

"When does the gravy train end? Taxpayers should be getting paid back for their investment, not shelling out more."

You are getting paid back with jobs and the income the mills produce and the taxes they pay!

If it were not for those jobs and the mills the city would have to either cut back on a lot of things or increase every taxpayer's annual property tax bill for the lost revenue from the three pulp mills

Check the Kitimat website. Since Eurocan closed its pulp mill the average Kitimat homeowner's tax bill is going up by 20% and the city is closing all kinds of venues, being somewhat unable to pay for them to stay open!

How does one deal with an annual tax loss of several million dollars?

Do you want to see this happening in P.G.?

Seriously, what's the agenda?

I am getting really tired of this corporate welfare name calling stuff!

The subsidies in the US have stopped?

Not a chance.

Posted by: gus on June 16 2010 7:55 PM

Maverick .... here is a synopsis of my posts

1. I said the mill(s) - meaning Northwood which is getting the work done that the article is about - has not been upgraded

2. You asked how I figure they have not been upgraded.

3. I pointed to the emissions inventory to show that there has not been any upgrading that has affected the PM emissions.

4. Then you said the obvious, that the article deals with the upgrading about to take place.

Yes, we know that. All that to come back to the start.

So, I says ... :-) ... there has not been any upgrading. Now there is because the government is giving them dollars to do so. They have not done it before with their own money to invest in their operations .. why?

Because they cannot afford it? Because to them it does not make economic sense? Because no one has dealt with them with stick?

Let's face it, they could mothball that plant tomorrow. What I said is that the subsidy from the feds has given them a bit of a reprieve. This is not about air quality. No one is hounding them on air quality. This is about Greenhouse gases and associated energy efficiency and maybe putting some new equipment on line. The plant may not be mothballed for a couple of more years or maybe a bit longer if the community is lucky.

I wonder if anyone has looked at mothballing the lest efficient plant and putting in a paper plant supplied by the pulp from the remaining plant(s)

Posted by: gamblor on June 16 2010 8:06 PM

Carbon offsets are a scam. "Greenwashing" is an increasingly common phenomenon where companies try to look green, but actually accomplish nothing, yet environmentalists are happy about it. It's another example of what happens when bunk (greenhouse gas theory) becomes law or accepted as science. The $$$green movement$$$ rears its ugly head yet again.

Posted by: Eagleone on June 16 2010 10:15 PM

Clearly this is an indication that the corporate world and government are in fact planning carbon tax off setting schemes.

How will that work with our Enbridge pipeline and its exports to a country like China that will not be participating in a carbon tax and carbon off setting schemes? IMO this is a significant question that is not being answered by our politicians that want the revenue from the China exports of oil sand production.

Will we the Canadian consumers be picking up the difference to pay for our carbon exports to third world countries like China that refuse to participate in this new global tax regime?

Posted by: herbster on June 17 2010 8:26 AM

The U.S. black liquor subsidy ended December 31,2009. Look it up.