The Bridgewater Provincial Courthouse will be one of six public buildings to see major renovations to its heating system which would convert wood into power, according to the province.
A government release this week confirmed a tender has been issued to five pre-qualified vendors for the design, construction and operation of modern biomass boilers that use wood chips from private woodlots.
“This initiative will help develop new, long-term markets for lower grade wood by replacing imported oil with locally sourced wood chips,” said Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin. “Creating a new market for lower grade wood will improve the economics of sustainable forest management, leading to healthier forests and a stable market for woodlot owners,” Rankin added.
In addition to the Bridgewater Courthouse, Hants East Rural High School, Memorial High School in Sydney Mines and Riverview High School in Sydney will see a similar conversion. The other two buildings are the Centre for Geographic Studies in Lawrencetown and the Perennia Park Atlantic Centre for Agri-Innovation in Bible Hill.
The sites were chosen for the high likelihood of success after geotechnical and environmental readiness evaluations were completed.
Converting public buildings over to wood heating was one of the recommendations from Prof. Bill Lahey’s Independent Review of Forest Practices. It was also recommended by the Forestry Transition Team that was formed to help the forestry industry adapt to a post-Northern Pulp industry.
The government estimates that each building will use 300 to 2,000 tonnes of wood pellets annually. This may also come as welcome news to private woodlot owners as Northern Pulp was previously the largest purchaser of low-quality wood chips in the region.
The province hopes to have all six heating systems up and running by next November.
