In honour of the Fifth Annual Bioenergy Day, Fink Machine held an Open House October 18 in Enderby, BC, to showcase their biomass fuelled District Energy (DE) System as well as the highlight the nearly 100 biomass heating projects they have done across Canada and the US.
FIFTH ANNUAL BIOENERGY DAY: OCTOBER 2017
Bioenergy is a domestic energy source responsible for sustaining tens of thousands of jobs, many of them in rural communities where they are most needed. One of those rural communities is Enderby, BC, which is home to Canada’s leading supplier of biomass boilers: Fink Machine.
In honour of the Fifth Annual Bioenergy Day, Fink Machine held an Open House on October 18 to showcase their biomass fuelled District Energy (DE) System as well as the highlight the nearly 100 biomass heating projects they have done across Canada and the US. Fink Machine was one of 60 organizations across Canada and the US that participated in events to recognize the economic and environmental benefits of using biomass to produce heat, power and fuels. Fink Machine, other private businesses, state governments and universities invited local residents and stakeholders to learn more about bioenergy and how it contributes locally to forest health and economic productivity.
Locally elected officials and staff from a number of BC communities, business people, as well as members of the general public and media, attended the open house. Attendees were amazed at the extent of the DE system (10 buildings with approx. 1.5 km of piping) fuelled with wood chips bought from a local sawmill.
Bioenergy is made from organic materials that are byproducts from other industries. Supplying biomass to the growing bioenergy sector represents an additional market for byproducts from the manufacturing process that support key sectors like forestry and agriculture. Bioenergy plays a key role in forest health by providing a market for dead fibres that are cleared from forests to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic fires. By valuing materials that might otherwise go to waste, bioenergy often contributes to the economic well-being of farmers, foresters and landowners.
The Bioenergy sector is extremely diverse and spans residential scale heating through to commercial heating, district energy, combined heat and power, and industrial scale energy production. If direct energy production was not enough, bioenergy also includes the production of liquid (ethanol, biodiesel, etc.) and solid fuel (wood pellets, torrification, biochar, etc.) market.
Bioenergy Day 2017 sponsors included Biomass Power Association, US Forest Service, US Department of Energy’s Bioen- ergy Technologies Office, Pellet Fuels Institute, US Industrial Pellet Association, Hearth Patio and Barbecue Association, Biomass Thermal Energy Council and Biomass Magazine. To learn more, please visit www.bioenergyday.org.
Industry Quotes
“On Bioenergy Day, I’d like to encourage all Americans and Canadians to heat locally!” said Stan Elliot, chairman of the Pellet Fuels Institute board of directors. “Our members make pellets from materials available in their nearby communities. While fossil fuel heating usually involves importing fuel from elsewhere, wood pellets are often made near the stores where they are sold. Heating with pellet fuels is a great way to save money and support your local forest products industry. “
“Restoring healthy, resilient forests depends on strong forest products markets that include wood energy,” said US Forest Service Chief Tony Tooke. “Thinning overcrowded forests, removing dead trees and using these fuels, as well as small, woody materials that burn easily, helps reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and fosters healthier forests.”
“Firewood continues to be an essential energy and heating source in suburban and rural communities across North America,” said Jack Goldman, President & CEO of the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association. “HPBA members across Canada and the United States know the importance of bioenergy from wood heaters and their role in providing energy security and heating households.”