“We see energy as the single biggest market for biomass to replace declining pulp and paper markets,” says Alastair Baird, secretary of the small but growing Ontario Biomass Energy Association (OBEA). This is particularly true if power plants could be located close to wood harvesting operations, which would cut transport costs.
Low-value bark, chips, sawdust and shavings must now be hauled by truck to paper-making plants, some of which are hundreds of kilometres from culling sites.
