Biomass energy in Canada
At one time in Canada, the combustion of biomass, especially wood, was the primary source of energy for heating and cooking in homes and process heat and steam for industries. Today our country’s dependence on biomass has changed, with the use of abundant, low cost fossil fuels.
However, biomass remains an important part of our country’s energy picture, supplying nearly six per cent of our primary energy demand, the second largest source of renewable energy after hydroelectricity.
A major application of biomass is found in the forest products and pulp and paper industries. By burning bark, wood chips, sawdust and “pulp liquor” (a mixture of pulping chemicals and organic material), saw mills and pulp and paper plants create heat for drying kilns and produce steam and electricity to meet their needs or to sell to the grid. In terms of installed electrical capacity, these industries have about 1,500 megawatts, mostly in cogeneration facilities.
Beyond the pulp and paper industry, several independent power producers generate electricity from the burning of wood wastes and other biomass materials. Currently there about 12 of these plants, with an installed capacity of about 130 megawatts.
On a smaller scale, the burning of biomass, particularly firewood, continues to supply space heating in many Canadian homes. According to Natural Resources Canada, about 1.5 million Canadians use wood for home heating. This use is most prevalent in Atlantic Canada.
Landfill gas, which results from the decay of municipal solid waste, is becoming an important new source of biomass energy. In 2000, about 13 sites across Canada captured roughly 200,000 tonnes of methane for energy purposes. These sites are primarily located in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
There are also a few biomass-based district heating systems in Canada. These systems burn biomass to provide heat or electricity, and sometimes both, to buildings in a community. Communities such as Grande Prairie, Alberta, have invested in new district systems fuelled by wood waste from nearby sawmills. In Atlantic Canada, existing district heating systems have been modified to burn wood wastes, thereby lowering reliance on fossil fuels.
In addition to the use of biomass to generate heat and electricity, there is also growing interest in developing liquid fuels from biomass.
Canada already has a large and growing fuel ethanol industry, producing about 175 million litres of ethanol each year, mainly from corn and wheat. With the addition of new production plants currently under construction, this production could triple over the next few years. Currently ethanol is used as an additive, mixed with gasoline in blends containing up to 10 per cent ethanol. About 1,000 retail stations sell ethanol-blended gasoline, with ethanol sales totaling about 240 million litres each year.
Canada currently produces approximately five million litres of biodiesel fuels per year. Various tests are also being carried out by utilities and others to explore the use of vegetable-based biodiesel fuels in their vehicle fleets.
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