Ontario’s policy of putting an end to coal-fired power, a long-standing part of the backbone of Ontario’s electrical system, has consequences beyond the intended improvement of air quality and the end of that source of carbon dioxide emissions. As discussed in other issues of IPPSO FACTO, coal has been a flexible source of baseload power, and the coal-fired stations, sitting at the hub of their part of the grid, have provided vital system support functions. And they represent a considerable investment in infrastructure.
Ontario Power Generation is exploring repurposing some of the coal-burning units to run on biomass, with a call March 18 to potential suppliers. Some changes will be necessary. For one thing, you can’t leave huge piles of biomass out in the rain the way you can with coal. In 2006, the Ontario government set aside $4 million to establish the Atikokan Bio-Energy Research Centre (ABRC) to work out the needed technologies, and tasked Ontario Centres of Excellence to manage it. OCE then built a community of interest around the ABRC from academia, industry, and NGOs, and secured an additional $4.5 million in cash and in-kind partner funding.
OCE chose six projects for funding, designed to assess the availability of biomass material in northwestern Ontario, the economics of harvesting and transportation of the material to the AGS, optimal conditions for combustion, and the resulting emissions and by-products of generating energy. The projects also assessed the environmental impacts of harvesting peat and examined the combustion of peat with coal. The projects were launched in September 2007 and completed in March 2010.
Among the program’s outcomes are:
• Two patents filed, for a real-time mercury detection device and for a catalyst to purify gas for electricity generation. Two more patents are possible.
• Development of a wood pellet that will enhance storage, handling and the heating value of biomass. The new pellets are easier to ship and handle, water resistant and do not release volatiles or dust that cause explosions.
• Determination that byproducts of biomass combustion could be used in the management of reactive mine tailings and as a mineral admixture for cement.
Six universities and colleges across Ontario participated: Lakehead University, Confederation College, University of Toronto, McMaster University, University of Western Ontario, and Queen’s University. A total of 139 were involved, including 87 students from universities and colleges – a matter of interest to those who track the replacement of retiring workers with new blood in the power sector.
For other articles in this feature, see the following related stories:
• Ontario research companies taking on the world
• Feature interview with Tom Corr, the new President of OCE
• Ontario Centres of Excellence - ready to respond
• Ontario’s burgeoning research infrastructure
• Stories on the MaRS centre and Making the grid even smarter
• How to get more value out of a transmission line / Pushing the limits of what the grid can carry