Green power ripe for developments.

Fitting into what appears to be part of the government's plan to introduce renewable energy, a northwestern engineering firm is looking at diversifying its traditional ship-repair business to eke out a market in the green-power sector.

Pascol Engineering in Thunder Bay developed a digester for EcoEnergy Corp.'s organic waste management system in Thunder Bay that is now attracting interest from American and Canadian farmers.

"What that does for Pascol is that we will be manufacturing these digesters and supplying them to EcoEnergy, which would put Pascol on the map," says Steve Allen, general manager of Pascol in Thunder Bay.

The system requires the waste of 1,000 cattle, at minimum, to be pumped from the barn to the blend tank where it is pre-heated and mixed with other organic matter. It then travels to the digester tank and processes up to 55 degrees Celsius where maximum gas production is obtained. The effluent is then channeled into a de-watering press where liquids and solids are separated, allowing the farmer to use the liquid, that has returned to a water state, for the herds or crops and the solids for adding nutrients to the soil. Energy is produced when the methane gas from the waste is contained in a generator and then used on the farm or sold to an electricity group.

Allen is anticipating the market is ready for the anaerobic digesters and if that is the case it would mean keeping company employees on 12 months out of the year instead of the current half-year cycle. He is awaiting word from local and regional government representatives who may assist in marketing the project outside the region, but says he would prefer to manufacture the digesters in the northwest with any spill-over to be picked up by their associated plant in St. Catharines. Traditionally, Pascol has concentrated on the ship-repair industry. However, with incentives to diversify, Allen is seeking opportunities that could augment production of the digesters.

Thunder Bay city members who are currently looking into wind power generation as an alternate energy source are forwarding some tower designs to Pascol in hopes that they can develop a structure for their wind turbines.

Zoe Beaulac, communications officer for Natural Resources Canada, says there has been a lot of interest, particularly in wind energy, from Northern Ontario since the region lies beside two of the Great Lakes.

Renewable Energy Deployment Initiative (REDI) has established the Wind Power Production Incentive Program that boasts a budget of $260 million and a sister project called the Market Incentive Program with a $35-million budget.

There is a real push on behalf of Canadians to not only conserve, but to consider new forms of alternate energy that would reduce the use of traditional energy like oil, she says.

In the future "hopefully the renewable products will be on the same level playing field as conventional uses of energy," Beaulac says, "and that the renewable energy industry will become so self-sufficient that they will not need government support."

John D. Gamble, president of the Consulting Engineers of Ontario, hopes the swell of interest in alternative energy forms will give more stability to their cyclical industry. It would seem that engineers are a "victim of their own success," and therefore taken for granted, particularly when it comes to environmental, social and economic infrastructure, he says. Sectors like energy do not get the attention they deserve until crises arise.

"It's a shame that we can't have a long-term view towards how we are going to provide energy in the future, instead of responding to crisis and pressures," Gamble adds. "The same applies to all levels, whether we are responding to transportation systems or community housing."

Part of the problem lies with all three levels of government and their cash-in, cash-out annual budgets, yet engineers are trying to provide infrastructure assets that have timelines of decades, he says. Last summer's power outage was a prime example, and it was then Ontario residents fully appreciated their vulnerability, as well as the lack of energy infrastructure, he says.

With the renewable energy sector pushing forward, Gamble hopes it will lend some credence to their contribution instead of it being "some flash in the pan."

He says society has become more sophisticated and dependent on technology needs. Combined with the lessons learned from past events, it may give political leaders the impetus to look at more long-term alternatives.

"Maybe we will see these opportunities ... and look at sustainability, look at lifecycle costs, look at engineering costs as an investment in the future, and get out of the historical practice of waiting until there is a problem and hoping we can scrounge what little money we have to solve it," Gamble suggests.

www.canren.gc.ca

www.renewables.ca

www.pascol.com

By KELLY LOUISEIZE

Northern Ontario Business