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Green Transformation funding program moving ahead quickly

The specifics of the federal government’s $1-billion Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program have be…

The specifics of the federal government’s $1-billion Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program have been worked out, and companies that are receiving credit for burning black liquor can expect to receive notice mid-October. Participating companies had to submit their applications by Sept. 18.

Announced in June and administered by Natural Resources Canada, the Green Transformation Program will make funding available for capital projects at pulp and paper mills in Canada that improve the company’s environmental performance.

The program calculates a maximum funding envelope for participating companies based on a $0.16/litre credit for black liquor produced by their mills between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 1, 2009. For the purposes of the program, black liquor includes liquid by-products of chemical pulping processes that are burned in a recovery boiler for the purpose of energy production, so kraft, sulphite, semi-chemical and bleached chemi-thermomechanical mills could be eligible.

Once credits have been awarded to participants, the firms must submit project proposals. Funding agreements will then be signed for projects approved by NRCan. Many of the projects will also have to undergo an environmental assessment before NRCan can provide any financial assistance.

Credits earned at one pulp mill may be used for projects at any other pulp and paper facility owned by the same company.

According to the Applicant Guide, projects could include, but are not limited to, the following examples:

• Recovery boiler upgrade or replacement;
• Installation of electricity-generating turbine for cogeneration;
• Replacement of motor with variable frequency drive (VFD) motor;
• Control optimization–new process controls that are installed to optimize operating parameters and performance and achieve energy savings;
• Fuel switch with new boiler to switch from fossil fuels to biomass;
• Enhanced black liquor evaporation or concentration to increase the heat content of the liquor and improve thermal output;
• Hog fuel dewatering to increase the heat content of the fuel and improve thermal output;
• Incineration of non-condensable gases to improve pollution control and achieve marginal thermal output;
• Water reduction to save water heating, usage and/or drying and associated energy use while improving effluent treatment and water discharge quality.

Further information on the program and the applicant’s guide are available at: http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/subsite/pulp-paper-green-transformation.