Confederation College Biomass Learning and Research Centre

I‘m proud and honoured to have been involved with the development of this project since its inception. It’s the first institution on Ontario to heat with wood in a significant way. The project had many significant, if not severe, challenges that were overcome with tenacity on the part of the College team. There were times when the project could have been mothballed but good leadership and tenacious partners (me!) have brought the plant up to optimal operation for the past several years.

This project features two Froling TM 500kW wood chip boilers that consume about 2,500 to 3,500 cubic metres of wood chips per year. This amounts to under 1,000 tonnes. The boilers heat the Shuniah building entirely and rely on backup natural gas boilers during the coldest winter days only.

The project spans over a decade, has seen several College Presidents preside over it and has seen a few reconstructions of its fuel handling system. The learning from this project is enormous and I apply it to every project that I work on building.