Made-in-BC gasification technology in small, community-based power plants
will convert beetle-damaged wood, forest slash and wood waste into clean,
renewable electricity
VANCOUVER, May 15 /CNW/ - Pristine Power and Nexterra Energy Corp.
(www.nexterra.ca) have formed a strategic alliance that will reach out to
Interior communities and sawmills to join a precedent-setting initiative to
create more value from their pine-beetle ravaged forest resources by
generating up to 200 megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable energy.
The BC Bioenergy Power Network, a response to the recently released BC
Government Energy Plan and BC Hydro's request for biomass energy proposals,
reflects a fundamental rethinking of how best to produce clean, renewable
electricity in significant volumes. The Network will consist of over 15
individual projects, each 10 to 20 MW's in size that will be widely
distributed across BC. These projects could be located in any forest-dependent
community with access to sufficient quantities of wood residue.
A key to the Network is Nexterra's leading-edge proprietary gasification
technology. This technology converts waste wood from mills, abandoned logging
slash and beetle-killed wood into syngas which is then used to generate
electricity. Its inherent efficiencies and modular design make this system
economic in small and medium sized applications. Utilizing Nexterra gasifiers,
Pristine aims to build small, community-based generation facilities at mills
and in communities throughout BC's central and southern Interior.
"We believe the BC Bioenergy Power Network is the best option for
converting BC's vast wood residue resources into clean, reliable and renewable
power," said Harvie Campbell, Executive Vice President of Pristine Power Inc.
"Our proposal to BC Hydro will further advance BC as a North American leader
in clean energy while creating hundreds of good-paying jobs, new opportunities
and a better future for communities and First Nations as they work to recover
from the devastating effects of the mountain pine beetle."
"The Bioenergy Power Network is about setting a new standard for creating
green power from biomass," said Jonathan Rhone, CEO of Nexterra Energy. "This
alliance between Pristine Power and Nexterra Energy is a powerful combination
of technology, power industry experience and financial resources that will
help BC achieve its Energy Plan objectives and BC forest communities to create
sustained value from its wood residue resources."
About Pristine Power Inc. - Pristine Power Inc. is a Calgary-based
independent power producer established to pursue opportunities to develop,
build and operate power generation facilities in Canada. Pristine is focused
on creating dependable, cost-effective and environmentally sensitive power
generation projects utilizing conventional and alternative technologies
including, but not limited to, conventional gas turbine cogeneration, energy
recovery generation, biomass generation and compressed air energy storage. For
more information: www.pristinepower.ca.
About Nexterra Energy Corp. - Nexterra Energy is a leading developer and
supplier of advanced gasification systems that enable customers to
self-generate clean, low cost heat and/or power using waste fuels "inside-the
fence" at institutional and industrial facilities. Nexterra gasification
systems provide a unique combination of attributes including design
simplicity, reliability, versatility, ultra-low emissions, low cost and full
automation to provide customers with a superior value proposition compared to
conventional solutions. Nexterra is a private company based in Vancouver, BC,
Canada. For more information: www.nexterra.ca.
For further information: Nexterra Energy Corp., Raymond McAllister,
Director of Communications, Tel: (604) 637-2507, Email:
rmcallister@nexterra.ca; Pristine Power Inc., Michael Goehring, National
Public Affairs, Tel: (604) 648-6655, Email: mgoehring@national.ca
