Adams Lake Biomass: Making energy from wood waste

BALANCING OUR TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE

Switching our Adams Lake mill’s energy source from liquified natural gas to biomass has been a real success story in sustainability. Before making the switch in 2008, the mill met its fuel needs by getting a diesel truck to transport LNG hundreds of kilometers every week. Today, the mill uses wood waste from the lumber manufacturing process to dry lumber and heat buildings during cold winter months. 

As a result, the mill’s carbon footprint has been dramatically reduced, and the investment costs of installing a biomass-fired energy system are being offset by carbon credits. Using a cleaner-burning fuel not only improved air quality in this important recreational and salmon-spawning region, but it also diverted wood waste from landfills.

The total offset of carbon as a result of this fuel switching is 90,000 tonnes over seven years, an amount equivalent to taking 18,627 cars off the road for one year.