Fourteen initiatives in northwestern Ontario will share in $9.4 million from the provincial government, which is earmarked for various biomass projects.
Announced on Jan. 30, the funds come from the Forest Biomass Program, which is being used to “increase the use of the province’s forest resources while developing new technologies, improving productivity and providing environmental benefits.”
The recipients include:
- Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper Mill (Thunder Bay): $5 million to upgrade and improve equipment to modernize the mill’s electrical system, enabling future measures to expand green energy production, reduce emissions and increase forest biomass usage;
- Whitesand First Nation (Thunder Bay): $1,289,573 to support the use of forest biomass for heat and power generation by fulfilling site preparatory work to construct a wood pellet plant in Whitesand's Bioeconomy Centre in Armstrong region;
- Biopower Sustainable Energy Corp. (Atikokan): $997,500 to increase production, improve efficiency and increase usage of forest biomass by acquiring new equipment and supporting modernization of the wood handling facility;
- FPInnovations (Thunder Bay): $250,000 to advance forest sector integration by identifying business opportunities among a biorefinery, forest operations and production facilities to support the development of a new wood biorefinery;
- Cat Lake First Nation (Sioux Lookout): $250,000 to promote economic growth and opportunity by assessing the region’s forest biomass supply, identifying opportunities to increase its use and developing a strategic plan to guide development;
- Jason Mattson 2538745 Ontario Ltd. (Atikokan): $250,000 to strengthen the forest sector supply chain and increase the regional use of forest biomass by purchasing a new biomass haul truck and self-unloading trailer;
- True North Trucking (Thunder Bay): $250,000 to support forest sector business certainty by acquiring a new truck with a self-unloading trailer to deliver forest biomass to mills across Northwestern Ontario;
- Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation (Nipigon): $250,000 to advance reliable and cost-efficient heat generation for homes and other buildings in the Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek community by promoting the use of harvested wood and mill residuals as heating fuel;
- Rutter Urban Forestry (Thunder Bay): $245,000 to support renewable energy production and deliver clean and cost-efficient heat generation by acquiring a mobile forest biomass chipper and tractor to produce heating chips;
- Lac Seul First Nation (Sioux Lookout): $237,280 to foster economic and social benefits by examining the engineering, environmental and business requirements to build three bioheat plants to heat schools and the community health centre;
- Lake Nipigon Forest Management Inc. (Nipigon): $200,000 to increase the use of forest biomass and expand alternative fuel production by supporting the development of a renewable natural gas and biocarbon facility;
- FPInnovations (Thunder Bay): $100,000 to enhance forest sector business competitiveness and provide environmental benefits by exploring opportunities to reduce the operating costs and improve the carbon footprint of producing lignin, a versatile wood extract;
- Greenmantle Forest Inc. (Thunder Bay): $62,500 to facilitate green energy production and increase forest sector sustainability by supporting the development of a green hydrogen facility using available wood biomass; and
- Lakehead University (Thunder Bay): $32,000 to advance forest biomass innovation and support development of alternative construction materials by investigating the strengths and potential uses of a green concrete containing forest biomass ash.
This is the second phase of the Forest Biomass Program funding. During the first, announced last December, 15 projects were funded through the program.
