By JOSEPH QUESNEL
Northern Ontario Business
The Timmins district is already seeking private backers for its ambitious plan to develop bio-fuel operations in the region, which may have spinoff benefits all over the North, says a project official with the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.
“There is the potential to develop several small-scale facilities for this operation in several communities, rather than just one large-scale facility,” says Marilyn Wood, chair of the Timmins Chamber of Commerce sustainable energy committee. “This is one way all northern communities can benefit.”
The committee is studying the strengths and weaknesses of setting up a facility to produce fuels derived from natural products like wood waste and plant residue. Significant backing for the concept, she says, has already been received from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.
The potential for a facility in the region was recognized by the committee two years ago when the committee was called the Kyoto opportunities committee. According to Wood, the call for non-fossil-fuel energy sources demanded by the Kyoto protocol made the opportunities more promising.
The committee is presently interviewing prospective backers and is researching who in the region is actually involved in bio-fuels, and what the advantages and disadvantages would be for the area. The committee is also interested in knowing what size of a facility the operation would require and also the initial capital cost of building it.
The magnitude of the project has made the committee cautious about whom they choose.
“Time is of the essence. This is a very large capital investment. We must make the right choice,” says Wood.
“This is a slow and accurate process. We can’t take the first company interested.”
Another significant area of concern is the initial criteria for approving companies for the project, so the committee can shortlist several of the best companies.
“We want a standard comparison to judge companies, so when we’re interviewing them we’re not comparing apples and oranges,” she says.
A significant challenge and opportunity, she says, is how a bio-fuel operation could affect local agriculture. Bio-fuel typically makes use of such crops as canola and soy. If a new crop is introduced into the area, Wood says, it should not be a hindrance on the local agricultural economy.
“We don’t want the bio-fuel operation to put too much pressure on local producers,” Wood says.
However, if the company willing to take on the project takes on the agricultural component of the operation, Wood says, this could create opportunities in Northern Ontario.
“It would probably be a plus if the company was willing to introduce new seed crops to the North,” she says.
Setting up a bio-fuel operation would also involve the need for a crushing facility in order to extract the oil from the crop - a facility Wood says would probably be established in an area like New Liskeard. The most important thing, she says, is making sure the entire operation stays in Northern Ontario.
“If the oil seed has to be shipped to an oil seed extractor in Toronto, what’s the point? We would prefer to have that process in the North.”
The committee expects to receive the final proposal by early July to continue to Phase 2.
