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“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

Williams Lake sends out S.O.S. for biomass power plant (Business in Vancouver)


The City of Williams Lake is fighting to save a biomass power plant there that is set to go dark in the coming weeks, partly due to a lack of affordable fibre, which has become an all-too-familiar refrain in BC for sawmills, pulp mills and other wood processing businesses.

The Atlantic Power plant in Williams Lake burns wood waste to generate about 66 megawatts of electricity annually, enough to power about 50,000 homes ... prior to plants like Atlantic Power being built, wood waste from logging in B.C. was burned in beehive burners, and to this day, tonnes of wood waste from timber harvesting is still burned in slash piles, generating nothing but smoke and ash.

Many of the EPAs signed in the 1990s expired a few years ago, and some were never renewed. Atlantic Power managed to get a 10-year extension to its contract in 2019, giving it until 2029 at least.

But the company that owns the plant announced one year ago that will have to shut down, as it will no longer be economic to operate, due to fibre insecurity and insufficient electricity rates from BC Hydro ...

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