Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti is again delivering the goods to St. Marys Paper.
He has announced the province and paper maker have reached a 10-year, 30-megawatt Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that will enable the company to build a $175-million biomass-fueled co-generation plant, creating 555 jobs in the process.
The plant will generate enough power to operate the mill and excess energy will be distributed to the provincial electricity grid.
“Our government has provided loans for St. Marys Paper in order to protect local jobs and revitalize the forestry sector and this new provincial power agreement makes it possible for the mill to build a biomass co-generation plant, which will provide it with long-term stability and greater job security for its workers,” said Orazietti in a Nov. 9 statement.
“A biomass-fueled co-generation plant creates a cost effective energy alternative that can supply the mill with enough power to be self-sustaining and positively impact the environment by decreasing green house gas emissions.“
The construction of the newplant will create 400 jobs and, once complete, the facility will employ 30 people and create an additional 125 jobs for workers collecting biomass fuel.
The co-generation plant will replace the paper mill’s aging boilers and allow biomass to be used as fuel in new state-of-the-art boilers, which are the first of their kind in Ontario and will decrease green house gasses.
“The provincial government’s support for a power purchase agreement is extremely important to the long-term viability of St. Marys Paper as it allows the mill to build a biomass co-generation plant that will provide a self-sustaining supply of energy that helps protect local jobs,” said Dennis Bunnell, CEO and board chair of St. Mary’s Paper. “Building a biomass co-generation plant will strengthen the local economy by creating 555 short-term and long-term jobs in the Sault and Algoma region and, once complete, allow the mill to more effectively transition to the bio-sector."
The news come on the heels of a recent funding agreement of an $8.8-million re-payable loan from the province’s Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry (MNDMF), which will enable St. Marys Paper to re-open and resume printing production in December.
In 2007, the Ontario government provided St. Marys with a loan of over $17 million for working capital to restructure and re-open, which brings total provincial support for the paper mill to $25.8 million.
