A Nova Scotia biomass producer is speaking out against the naysayers in Halifax who are giving a "negative rap" to burning wood waste to generate electricity. Jim Verboom of Verboom Grinders in Truro said people who support the use of biomass for energy have "stayed quiet," but no more. "It’s their nature, it’s their trade; they work in the back roads of Nova Scotia, whereas the people who are against it live here in Halifax.
A Nova Scotia biomass producer is speaking out against the naysayers in Halifax who are giving a "negative rap" to burning wood waste to generate electricity. Jim Verboom of Verboom Grinders in Truro said people who support the use of biomass for energy have "stayed quiet," but no more. "It’s their nature, it’s their trade; they work in the back roads of Nova Scotia, whereas the people who are against it live here in Halifax.
A Nova Scotia biomass producer is speaking out against the naysayers in Halifax who are giving a "negative rap" to burning wood waste to generate electricity.
Jim Verboom of Verboom Grinders in Truro said people who support the use of biomass for energy have "stayed quiet," but no more.
"It's their nature, it's their trade; they work in the back roads of Nova Scotia, whereas the people who are against it live here in Halifax.
"It's up to us to speak up, and up until now we haven't, and that's been our shame," said Mr. Verboom, after speaking Monday at a one-day energy conference in Halifax.
Mr. Verboom said the debate around using wood biomass to generate electricity has been a one-sided debate and it is time for the forest …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]A Nova Scotia biomass producer is speaking out against the naysayers in Halifax who are giving a "negative rap" to burning wood waste to generate electricity.
Jim Verboom of Verboom Grinders in Truro said people who support the use of biomass for energy have "stayed quiet," but no more.
"It's their nature, it's their trade; they work in the back roads of Nova Scotia, whereas the people who are against it live here in Halifax.
"It's up to us to speak up, and up until now we haven't, and that's been our shame," said Mr. Verboom, after speaking Monday at a one-day energy conference in Halifax.
Mr. Verboom said the debate around using wood biomass to generate electricity has been a one-sided debate and it is time for the forest industry to speak out.
"So far, biomass has taken a very negative rap in Nova Scotia," he said.
"Nova Scotians have only been hearing one side of the argument. They have been inundated by pictures and comments from people who are against cutting trees for whatever purpose."
Nova Scotia environmental groups and provincial woodlots owners are worried that the demand for more biomass to generate electricity will lead to more clearcutting.
Jamie Simpson, a forester with the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, has stated using forest biomass to meet Nova Scotia's new renewable energy targets would deplete forest productivity and biodiversity.
The debate about using wood-fired electricity has been in the news lately after the Dexter government recently approved harvesting, with conditions, of biomass from Crown land for use by NewPage Port Hawkesbury to generate electricity.
Also, the Nova Scotia government hired Dalhousie University professor David Wheeler to hold consultations on renewable energy in the province. It is likely Mr. Wheeler will be recommending wood waste be used by Nova Scotia Power to ensure it will meet tough new environmental regulations.
The new targets require that 25 per cent of the province's electricity supply come from a combination of wind, biomass and tidal power by 2015, and possibly 40 per cent by 2020.
NSP currently generates 10 to 12 per cent of its electricity from clean sources.
Mr. Wheeler is expected to report back to government with recommendations by year's end.
On Monday, at the energy conference, Mr. Wheeler said he was dropping a "hint" that his recommendation might include a scenario of a large 300-megawatt wind farm, community wind farms generating 100 megawatts, and four or five biomass projects, generating 200 megawatts.
He noted biomass-generated electricity "creates a challenge, considering the public is not on side."
A study conducted for Nova Scotia Power earlier this year found very little support for biomass and strong support for wind developments, he said.
Mr. Verboom said he'll wait to see Mr. Wheeler's report, but added there is enough wood waste in the province - trees that have fallen down or been killed by insects - to support several biomass projects.
"There's no question that we have way more resources in the province than even the most optimistic scenarios that have been painted so far," he said.
Verboom Grinders provides biomass to almost a dozen industrial customers in the province.
There are morethan 300 million tonnes of oven-dry biomass in Nova Scotia, according to a July 2008 report from the provincial Natural Resources Department.