Northern Forest
Products and
Bioenergy
Innovation Centre
implementing bioenergy
applied research & development
regional sustainability
www.unbc.ca/green
What
Green
Means
Research
Campus
Living It
UNBC has a diverse range of
environmental degree programs
and has one of the highest
proportion of students in naturebased degree programs in
Canada.
11 of UNBC’s 13 research
chairs focus on environmental
issues, a higher proportion than
any other Canadian university.
We also have research stations
throughout northern BC.
to Us
Environmental
In northern British Columbia, it’s
the environment that sustains
communities, health, cultures,
and the economy. This is just
one reason why UNBC is the
top choice for students and
faculty interested in studying
the environment up close and
personal – rather than from a
distant concrete jungle.
sustainability
has emerged
as one of the
defining issues
of our time.
UNBC intends to be British
Columbia’s model for green
energy and the first university
in Canada to implement major
power plant measures to
become carbon neutral and
operate on renewable energy.
UNBC is uniquely positioned
to join with governments,
communities, the private
sector, First Nations, and
our educational partners to
develop local solutions to
these challenges by integrating
campus operations, education,
and research on a single site.
Teaching
UNBC is proposing a bioenergy
program that will reduce
greenhouse gas emissions
and fossil fuel consumption on
the Prince George campus.
The program will help the
University meet its current and
future energy needs, reduce or
eliminate our greenhouse gas
footprint, and reduce energy
costs while contributing to
R&D, training, student/public
education and the development
of bioenergy projects and
demonstration opportunities for
northern communities.
Is there another region in North
America with greater wealth and
diversity in natural resources?
Our environment provides trees,
minerals, electricity, and natural
gas. It also sustains worldclass recreational pursuits,
tremendous fish and wildlife
populations, and agriculture.
As Canada’s Green University,
we’re helping our region be a
model for the country – and
indeed, the world – leading the
way to a more sustainable future
for all.
UNBC’s Prince George campus
is a showpiece for the use of
natural materials in architecture
and none of the buildings is
taller than the surrounding trees.
The Quesnel campus was built
to a LEED Gold standard.
Students, staff, and faculty
are passionate about the
environment. Students recently
joined the U-Pass program with
the highest approval vote in
BC and they operate a popular
compost demonstration garden.
Phase 1:
Prince George
Campus
operations
UNBC, Western Economic
Diversification, and the
Canadian Wood Pellet
Association are conducting
a pilot project investigating
the use of wood pellets in a
commercial/institutional heating
application. Toward that end,
installation of a 1.4 million BTU
pellet burning system in the
I.K. Barber Enhanced Forestry
Lab at UNBC is underway.
This project is fully funded at
$517,000.
Public education is integral
to our plan. The University is
creating a Green University
Centre in the Winter Garden that
will serve as an education hub
for the University community
about bioenergy, energy
conservation, climate change,
waste reduction, recycling,
transportation, and more.
$250,000 in funding is required
for the renovation and an
endowment fund to support
student activities. The personnel
located in the Centre are being
funded by BC Hydro, the Pacific
Institute for Climate Solutions,
and UNBC.
UNBC has signed a letter of
intent with Nexterra Energy,
a British Columbia bioenergy
company, to install a biomass
gasification system that will
provide heat to the core
campus buildings and offset
an estimated 85% of current
natural gas consumption.
This 15-million BTU fixed-bed
gasification project has attracted
$5-million from Public Sector
Energy Conservation Agreement
(PSECA) funding and $3.5million from the Government of
BC’s Innovative Clean Energy
(ICE) fund – just over half of
the $15-million estimated
total project cost. Project
completion can be achieved in
the third quarter of 2010 if the
remaining $6.5 million in funding
is received in the first quarter
2009.
Existing
Power Plant
We’re Ready Now
The Prince George campus
is uniquely positioned to be a
showpiece for renewable energy.
All of the core campus buildings
are connected to the Power Plant
via a utility corridor for the efficient
distribution of heat and power.
The Power Plant currently serves
more than 56,000 square metres
of space in multiple buildings.
Currently, UNBC consumes nearly
85,000 gigajoules of natural gas
per year to heat the campus. A
biomass energy system at the
University could offset up to 4,000
tonnes of annual greenhouse gas
emissions.
Phase 3:
Community
Installations
Phase 2:
Applied Bioenergy
and Forest Products
Research
This phase of the project is to
develop a research centre that
will have two parts:
The Sustainable Northern
Bioenergy Centre will provide
opportunities for integrated,
interdisciplinary research
on the social, economic,
political, biological, health,
and technological aspects of
bioenergy, as well as training
opportunities for technologists,
potentially in conjunction with
the College of New Caledonia.
The Northern Forest Products
Diversification Centre
will integrate research and
teaching on resource policy
and economics, global markets
and trade, emerging markets,
and business development
with product innovation and
development. This component
would focus on 1 ) the
regulatory environment, as well
as socioeconomic parameters
that enhance or limit our
capacity to add value to forest
resources; and 2) increasing
our involvement in wood
product development, such as
value-added wood products,
innovative uses of dead wood,
and by-products from the pulp
mill industry.
The research centre will operate
a bioenergy pilot plant at close
to commercial scale, and it will
be critical for the development
of knowledge and the training
of highly qualified personnel.
The pilot plant will also serve as
a demonstration unit regarding
the production of value-added
products from biomass. All of
these functions will contribute to
the economic diversification of
forest-dependent communities.
The ultimate objective of
UNBC’s bioenergy and forest
products program is to
serve as a new knowledge
source for British Columbia
communities that are aiming to
diversify their resource-based
economies. Using the campus
as a showpiece and adding the
research component in phase
two, this project is designed to
demonstrate British Columbia
technology for implementation
in northern and First Nations
communities and utilize
mountain pine beetle biomass
in the creation of energy. This
practical implementation phase
will involve applying operational
insights and research
information to communities
of varying sizes and assisting
them in creating solutions to
environmental and economic
challenges.
BC Premier Gordon Campbell
was in Prince George in 2008
to officially launch the BC
Bioenergy Network. The 2009
Northern Economic Summit again
highlighted local opportunities
for bioenergy research and
development at UNBC.
With an established forest industry
infrastructure – as well as the
challenge of managing forests
infected with the pine beetle
– northern BC is an ideal location
for implementing bioenergy
opportunities at the community
level.
In the UNBC Power Plant, Chief
Engineer Doug Carter describes
to Ministers Neufeld, Bond, and
Chong how simply an alternative
energy system could connect
into UNBC’s existing heating and
cooling system. The scale of the
UNBC system would make it an
appropriate model for northern
communities.
It is in remote Aboriginal
communities where the needs for
energy security are perhaps most
obvious. With connections to First
Nations throughout northern BC
and beyond, UNBC is eager to
help ensure that the results of our
bioenergy program are applied
widely.
Northern BC:
A knowledge-based,
resource economy
connected to
the world.
The University has the potential
to be a world class showcase
of BC clean energy technology.
The first of its kind at a
Canadian university, it will be
a catalyst for applied research
and economic development. It
will directly support provincial
and national priorities related
to climate action, renewable
energy, research, northern
economic diversification, valueadded wood products, and the
expansion of BC’s knowledgebased economy.
Contacts
Phase 1: Campus Operations
Eileen Bray, VP Administration
(250) 960-5541
braye@unbc.ca
Phase 2: Research
Gail Fondahl, VP Research
(250) 960-5856
fondahlg@unbc.ca
3333 University Way
Prince George, BC
V2N 4Z9