Web exclusive posted April 7, 2009, at 2:54 p.m. CST

The government of British Columbia, Canada, recently announced it has pledged more than $32.6 million to commercialize approximately $200 million in provincial renewable energy technology projects.

The funding comes from two sources. The Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund will award more than $22.6 million to 19 projects representing a variety of technologies. Another $10 million from the government will support eight liquid biofuels projects to develop cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, and biofuel technologies with demonstrated low greenhouse gas emissions. The province has mandated that by 2010 gasoline and diesel used in British Columbia must contain a minimum of five percent renewable content. As well, the province has taken a decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 33 percent by 2020.

"British Columbia's alternative energy and biofuel sectors are becoming world-leaders in pioneering cutting-edge clean, green technology," said British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell. "By focusing on leading-edge technology, we're supporting the creation of good jobs in communities across the province; building a home-grown clean energy sector that will market proven innovations to the world; and helping meet the growing demand for green power here in British Columbia."

The funding announcement was made April 3 at Lignol Innovations Ltd. in Burnaby, British Columbia. Lignol was awarded $3.4 million to produce cellulosic ethanol and other products utilizing forestry residues indigenous to the province. The $11.57 million project includes establishing process and product characteristics to produce test-market quantities of cellulosic ethanol and lignin-based products.

Lignol will use the funding to support production runs at its industrial-scale biorefinery pilot plant using forest resources, such as beetle-killed lodgepole pine. This will lead to the creation of an engineering design package for a commercial biorefinery within the province.

"This facility is one of just a handful in the world that can demonstrate the production of cellulosic ethanol and biochemicals on an industrial scale," said Ross MacLachlan, president and chief executive officer of Lignol. "With this support from the provincial government, we will begin operating our new pilot plant on a range of B.C. feedstocks, so that we can optimize our process and finalize the engineering for large scale plants. This facility will become a showcase for our company and British Columbia as we strive to commercialize a technology that holds so much promise for the forest products industry and communities hardest hit by the mountain pine beetle devastation."

MacLachlan said the continued support from provincial and federal agencies, along with the company's business partners, are helping Lignol play a role in revitalizing the British Columbia forest industry, while developing technology that reduces emissions and has strong potential as an export product.
Other companies that also received funds from the province included:

Northwind Ethanol in Prince George, British Columbia, received a $1.24 million ICE Fund award to build a 500,000 gallon cellulosic feedstock, fuel ethanol demonstration-scale facility to make ethanol and lignin from woody biomass. The project supports new employment opportunities in the forest industry and provides fuel ethanol. The project cost is expected to be approximately $4.98 million.

Pure Power Global Ltd. in Quesnel, British Columbia, received $880,000 to design and build a biorefinery in Quesnel to convert 10 metric tons per day of woody biomass into cellulosic ethanol, lignins and xylose. The project will demonstrate the ability of an integrated biorefinery to carry out air, soil and water remediation in a rural community and develop engineering specifications for a 250-metric tons per day commercial biorefinery. The project is expected to cost $17.6 million.