Ontario to use forestry waste as biofuel but some critics unimpressed

The new five-year biofibre policy targets leftover waste such as tree tops, branches and unmarketable trees currently left on the forest floor or burned in a pile.

Turning that waste into energy is a win-win since it will reduce the reliance on conventional energy sources and spur economic development in northern Ontario, the province says.

"The stuff that's left behind now is being used, it's a residual that before was simply wasted," Minister of Natural Resources Donna Cansfield said in an interview.

"We recognized there was an opportunity in using them for biofuel, so we developed a biofibre policy whereby we would be able to look at that... from a fuel perspective."

Among the first uses of biofibre will be at a pallet wood sawmill and a four megawatt co-generation operation in the northern town of Harcourt. Those projects are being supported by a $1.56-million grant and a loan guarantee of $2.4 million.

Some environmentalists say they're not impressed with the plan and fear it will simply end up sacrificing trees to help address the province's economic woes.

"It is an arena that has a lot of potential but it's not a silver bullet and right now it's being painted as a sort of bullet to the forestry industry and for climate change as well," said Trevor Hesselink, the forest program director for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

"Whereas it has potential in both of those camps to some extent, looking at it as a silver bullet as opposed to just one of the dimensions of the overall tool kit is very dangerous."

Hesselink said he's concerned that while the idea of turning waste into biofuel may seem sound, the lost benefits from trees naturally removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the emissions associated with logging and the transport of the biofibre may do more harm than good.

"We don't see that (the government) has taken any of our comments seriously at all and are not looking at it through the lens of long-term forest health."

He's also concerned that the government will be giving away the forest waste for free for 10 years as an incentive to drive the biofibre industry.

"If it is necessary to provide baseline subsidies to biofibre projects, is this a promising sign for an effective new forestry paradigm?" Hesselink argued.

New Democrat environment critic Peter Tabuns said he supports the plan and just wishes the government implemented it sooner.

"It's something that other jurisdictions like Manitoba and New Zealand did years ago so the Liberals seem to be late coming to this, but we think it's a positive development," he said.