Peat harvester intends to stay in Ontario's green fuel mix

Peat Resources continues to press for the recognition of peat fuel at an alternative to burning coal at Ontario power generating plants.

In an April 15 news release, the Toronto-based company said university researchers claim their wet harvesting method will not damage the environment on their Upsala property in northwestern Ontario.

The conclusions of field studies, conducted by Lakehead and McMaster Universities from 2007 to 2009, said the company's wet harvesting method will maintain bio-diversity in the area and provides "excellent post-harvest conditions for valuable agri-crops" like wild rice or blueberries.

Researchers said the removal of fuel-grade peat is said to actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions of methane and carbon dioxide.

Peat Resources is working to develop, produce and market peat fuel in Ontario. Their plans are to skim fuel-grade peat off of bogs on their Upsala property, 130 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, and process it into pellets to burn in generating plants.

However the province wants to burn wood pellets only as it launches a public supply call in its conversion of the nearby Atikokan Generation Station from burning coal to wood-based biomass fuel.

Chris Young, Ontario Power Generation's Vice-President of Thermal Generation, said peat is often criticized on a number of fronts about whether harvesting produces any potentially harmful environmental and emission issues.

In an e-mailed response, Peat Resources President and CEO Peter Telford said Young is influenced by the concerns of the Ministry of Environment, which hasn't updated their knowledge of his operation since 2006. "A lot has happened since then, including the government-funded research under the Atikokan Bioenergy Research Centre program administered by the Ministry of Energy and Ontario Centres of Excellence."

Telford said OPG "seems to be skirting the issue" by planning to run the Atikokan plant at reduced capacity on wood pellets. "Part of the reason for this is that there is not sufficient sustainable wood pellet supply in Ontario to run these at full capacity."

Telford said all of this needs to reviewed in the context of what's being proposed for mining activities at the Ring of Fire in the James Bay Lowlands. The mining proponents will have huge power requirements and the Ontario government should "not casually dismiss peat fuel as a valuable energy" source for the North.