A Green Alternative to Fossil Fuels
Biomass is a term for the biological material that comes from living or recently living plants.
Canada’s agriculture sector therefore represents a tremendously abundant source of biomass. This is a significant advantage because biomass is a resource of rapidly growing importance in what many analysts refer to as the burgeoning global “bioeconomy.” Biomass is the basis for making renewable bioenergy, biofuels and other bioproducts that are increasingly replacing fossil-fuel based products.
Today biomass energy (or “bioenergy”) is of increasing interest as a renewable, environmentally friendly alternative to energy derived from fossil fuels. Through a variety of processes, biomass can be converted to solid, liquid or gaseous biofuels. Greater use of these biofuels could help ease society’s dependence on fossil fuels and, in the process, reduce net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Companies from a wide variety of industries are making the move from electric and fossil fuel energies to biomass. Here are a few examples of uses for our oat hull biomass fuel pellets:
Grain Dryers
Traditionally heated with propane, grain dryers consume large amounts of energy. They provide the heat and airflow necessary to dry and preserve grain to industry spec. Biomass fuel provides a carbon neutral solution for this essential process.
Barn Heating
Cold weather poses a significant risk to the health and safety of livestock in winter months. Biomass is replacing traditional systems such as electric, propane or natural gas furnaces & boilers. Biomass heating maintains high efficiency and low emissions.
Residential & Industrial Boilers
Biomass boilers produce energy through biomass combustion instead of traditional fossil fuels. Biomass fuel provides a sustainable solution for heat and electricity generation.
A Green Replacement for Coal
In April 2014, Ontario Power Generation transitioned from coal to biomass energy at its Atikoken Generating Station in Northwestern Ontario. The station is now the largest 100% biomass-fueled power plant in North America.
In December 2018, the Federal Government finalized regulations requiring all non-CCS coal-fired plants to be retired by 2030. Carbon capture systems are an option for coal plants, but an extremely expensive one, and still consumes fossil fuels.
Biomass represents a more cost-effective and sustainable alternative to coal. The good news is that existing coal plants can be converted to biomass technology relatively quickly and easily.
