Rural Economic Development (RED) Program

Inspiring Rural Communities is a collection of stories from rural Ontario communities. It is inspired by people who see potential in their home towns and are eager to share their experiences

Community Turns Dust Into Green Energy

The Town of Renfrew's latest project is turning waste wood into green fuel. Starting off with free sawdust from local sawmills, the Renfrew bio-refinery rescues natural oils and resins from the wood waste. The natural oils can fuel turbines used to generate electricity. The rescued resins are 'green' ingredients that can replace petroleum-based products in the manufacturing of composite lumber.

"Truthfully, its even a bigger environmental win:win," according to Norm Anderson, President of the Renfrew Industrial Commission. "The process rescues debris that otherwise would have gone to the local landfill."

The new technology, called a Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) bio-refinery, is located in the Renfrew Innovation Centre. It's designed and operated by Ensyn Technologies Inc. The company teamed up with the Ospeongo Forestry Service, Renfrew's Industrial Commission and the Ontario government to get the bio-refinery project up and running.

The bio-refinery takes waste wood from local sawmills and forestry companies and transforms the waste into a bio-oil. The dark, easy-flowing bio-oil resembles the appearance of espresso coffee. At this stage the bio-oil can be used as a fuel but added value is derived by putting the bio-oil through a second process to extract natural resins and leave an even cleaner bio-fuel. This is the green fuel. It's produced from a renewable resource and according to Ensyn, "the green fuel has negligible sulfur content and is CO2 neutral." This green fuel can be used to power modified turbines and diesel engines for electricity.

The natural resins are economical to recover and in demand for the manufacture of plywood and composite lumber. These resins from the bio-refinery are natural and renewable. They reduce or eliminate the use of petrochemicals in board manufacturing.

Norm Anderson, President of the Renfrew Industrial Commission, saw an opportunity for the community. "We had a facility available and we had the biomass in the form of wood chips and sawdust from numerous local manufacturers. It was a case of seizing the opportunity."

Ontario's Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Leona Dombrowsky, is a keen supporter of new, green energy projects. "Opportunity is what you make of what you have," says
Dombrowsky. "What we have learned from Renfrew's innovation can be duplicated elsewhere in rural and Northern Ontario and may branch out to include other agricultural sources of bio-mass. I'm glad our Rural Economic Development Program could be a partner on this project."

The Mayor of Renfrew, Sandra Heins is looking to the future when the biomass project will provide heat and energy to other businesses in the industrial park. "I'm looking forward to showing other municipal leaders the potential of a project like this one," says the Mayor. "We're looking at a
state-of-the-art operation in Renfrew that is going to be seen by other towns and counties for that matter." Heins likes the fact that other communities can replicate the project and have success too.

David Boulard of Ensyn Technologies says locating the facility in Renfrew made sense. "Renfrew is a gateway to this region's forestry industry. The town was built on the forestry industry. So naturally they saw this as a high-value opportunity to leverage the assets and skill sets within the community."

The Renfrew partners have pioneered an environmentally-friendly biomass technology that not only diverts waste from landfill, reduces harmful byproducts and creates jobs but also expands a network of renewable energy sources in the province.

In September, 2007, the ministry announced a new program to specifically partner with the innovative biogas sector developing in the province. The program is called the Ontario Biogas Systems Financial Assistance Program.

For more information about the Renfrew Bio-refinery, contact Norm Anderson at: 613-432-5813.

Please contact the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs at: 1-888-588-4111 or visit www.ontario.ca/rural if you would like more information about the Rural Economic Development Program and other projects near you.