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Canfor Northwood to upgrade turbines, sell energy to province

BC Hydro and Canfor Pulp have announced a new agreement to generate bioenergy at the Northwood mill in Prince George. Canfor will invest $26 million to upgrade two turbo-generators at the mill. This will add 11 megawatts of capacity to the…

BC Hydro and Canfor Pulp have announced a new agreement to generate bioenergy at the Northwood mill in Prince George. Canfor will invest $26 million to upgrade two turbo-generators at the mill. This will add 11 megawatts of capacity to the provincial grid and provide 97 gigawatt hours of electricity supply annually.

In addition, Canfor’s investment will allow it to reduce its supply requirements from BC Hydro by 17 gigawatt hours per year.

“With the previous resources provided by Natural Resources Canada and the BC Hydro Integrated Power Offer, this project is the next phase of our plan to demonstrate Canfor Pulp’s continued commitment to maximizing the energy efficiency at our operations and support incremental generation of clean, renewable power,” said Brett Robinson, President, Canfor Pulp.
The Northwood turbine upgrade project is expected to be in service by March 2014.

BC Hydro has an existing electricity purchase agreement with Canfor for a facility at its Prince George Pulp and Paper Mill. The agreement was signed in early 2009 under the first phase of BC Hydro’s Bioenergy Call for Power and provides for 70 gigawatt hours of electricity annually.   

Shirley Bond, MLA, Prince George-Valemount, stated: “I welcome this agreement as great news for our region. The agreement provides a secondary revenue stream for the mill while also offering significant operating cost reductions through energy conservation.”