Addressing Challenges in the Biomass Sector
Funded through Round 9: Renewable Energy in 2014, PowerWood Canada Corporation (formerly Mustus Energy) proposed a biomass power plant near La Crete, Alberta. While the overall objective of this project was to produce sustainable power using wood as a fuel in rural communities, the project was ultimately terminated in 2015.
In most biomass power plants, the fuel handling system (FHS)—a machine that transports biomass materials from storage to boilers—is one of the significant barriers for adoption. This is because biomass like sawmill waste or forest wood comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, types and moisture levels. Traditional FHS systems simply take the fuel as it comes and send it to the boiler without processing. This means the biomass can be too wet, too dry or too inconsistent to burn properly, which leads to lower efficiency and higher emissions. It also makes it difficult for biomass plants to run steadily, like a coal or natural gas plant. To address this issue, PowerWood designed an FHS to carefully sort, blend and manage the biomass before it reaches the boiler. It would use sensors and controls to measure moisture and energy content, then adjust how the fuel was handled and fed into the system. Additionally, the system’s design was modular. This system would create a steady, reliable fuel flow with consistent energy, making the plant run smoothly, efficiently and without interruptions.
Identifying Lessons for Future Biomass Developers
During the project, PowerWood planned to install a high-temperature boiler system and construct a pilot of the novel FHS. The plant was expected to offset up to 906,000 tonnes of emissions annually to prove that a scalable, high-performance biomass plant could work in remote northern communities. While the funding relationship with this project was ultimately terminated before construction began, it highlighted a key challenge and opportunity in the biomass sector. The project identified that fuel consistency is critical to reliability. For biomass to become a true baseload power source, controlling how the fuel is delivered and burned is just as important as having enough fuel. This approach offered a valuable insight for future developers looking to make biomass a more reliable and scalable part of the clean energy mix.
What’s next?
After the funding relationship was terminated in 2015, PowerWood shifted focus toward producing “black pellets,” a high-energy, moisture-resistant biofuel designed to directly replace coal in industrial boilers. The company secured forestry rights over millions of hectares in Northern Alberta to sustainably harvest wood waste, including from fire-damaged and insect-infested areas. PowerWood’s Plant1 project near Peace River is designed to produce around 360,000 tonnes of these pellets every year and is sold to the Japanese power market, supporting their transition away from coal.