New company looks to power Thunder Bay, Ont., with wood chips

When Vince Rutter'stree-trimming trucks make their way back to the shop at the end of the day, he sees not just a bunch of wood chips, but also energy.

Rutter operates an urban forestry operation in Thunder Bay, Ont., and is now the co-owner and President of Biothermic Wood Energy Systems.

Biothermic Wood Energy Systems

5 years ago

Duration 1:44

Biothermic Wood Energy Systems

The latter designs and builds wood boilers, which are powered by wood chips. The wood in this case all comes from Thunder Bay's urban forest, and is chipped before coming to the site.

It is then sorted to ensure it is the right size for Boithermic's systems, and any residual wood is sent to thebiomass boiler at Resolute Forest Products.

"If you look at Canada on the whole, we are awash in sustainable forests. And, it's cold and we have a high heat demand," said Rutter, adding he is surprised wood boilers have not become more popular.

"So, if we want to find alternatives to fossil fuels, whether it's based on price or carbon, we need to be looking at our forests."

As for maintenance, Rutter said new wood systems can operate for weeks without maintenance.

"Our wood chip boilers can run for a month without resupply, it depends on the storage that you build. But, automated means you can check on your phone and see how it's doing."

Rutter said the new systems available in Canada closely resemble technology that has been available for a long period of time in Europe.

He said the technology itself is proven, and there is an ample source of fuel, so he hopes the concept of burning wood chips will catch on.

"Look around, there's trees growing in every corner of our city," he said. "The average lifespan is between 30 and 80 years, so there's a constant supply of trees that are in need or removed, or pruned, so the supply is significant."

"If we need to bolster our supply, we can easily look to sawmill residues for more fibre, or the forest thinning for more volume, more heating clients."