Synfuel plant gets go-ahead.The Ontario government has approved the environmental assessment Terms of Reference Terms of reference allude to a mutual agreement under which a command, element, or unit exercises authority or undertakes specific missions or tasks relative to another command, element, or unit. Also called TORs. for two proposed Synfuel syn·fu·el n. A liquid or gaseous fuel derived from coal, shale, or tar sand, or obtained by fermentation of certain substances, such as grain. [syn(thetic) + fuel.] Technologies electricity generation plants. The plants, to be located near Cascades Fine Paper mills and former Valley Camp site in Thunder Bay Thunder Bay, city (1991 pop. 113,946), SW Ont., Canada, on Thunder Bay inlet of Lake Superior. The city was created in 1970 by the amalgamation of the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur and two adjoining townships. , will produce 115 megawatts (MW) and 220 MW respectively, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Bob Van Patten The Van Patten family has made a name for themselves in Hollywood as a family of actors and directors. Members include:
The first filing is a complete review of all the agencies' input within the Ministry of Environment including the public meeting feedback and response cycle. Now that Synfuel has received Terms of Reference approval, the company will be asked to re-submit their original environmental assessment (EA) for which two revisions were suggested. The first recommendation was to build a dome to store the petroleum coke Petroleum coke (often abbreviated petcoke) is a carbonaceous solid derived from oil refinery coker units or other cracking processes.[1] Other coke has traditionally been derived from coal. supply, which will be used to fuel the generating station. "We have included domes for the storage of petroleum coke, so now there will be no open field storage," Van Patten says. Rail cars will unload into a warehouse, then transfer the coke product to the domes. "It stays contained. There are no ground water issues and no dust (concerns) because everything is stored inside." This was one of the fundamental concerns brought up at public meetings. In addressing the issue, Van Patten found it would be easier to build the domes than to dig holding ponds. The second suggestion was a closed loop cooling tower. All the water used in making steam, and therefore the energy, will be recycled. "There (will be) no water discharge from the plant whatsoever." The water tower was suggested from one of the agencies within the minister's office. Resubmitting the original EA into the format of the Terms of Reference gives the government 30 weeks to review the process, Van Patten says. Because Ottawa has already reviewed it once before, it may only take until the end of summer before construction begins. However, construction delays, higher interest rates and increased steel prices have ballooned the project's original $250 million price tag to around $300 million. "It has a five per cent increase on the overall cost of the product," he says, adding he doesn't forecast higher energy costs to users because the project can be amortized over a longer period of time. Construction should take about 24 months. Van Patten thought the co-generation project would be approved last summer, but public input and environmental agencies sparked the government to push forward with a full EA process. The Canadian environmental assessment guideline was written for coal and natural gas regulations but never had a company introduced petroleum coke, a byproduct by·prod·uct or by-prod·uct n. 1. Something produced in the making of something else. 2. A secondary result; a side effect. Noun 1. of the oil refining business. So the ministry had to assess the environmental impact of the proposed Synfuel project. If Van Patten knew then what he knows now, he says he would have completed an EA process under the Terms and Reference first instead of going through their own assessment process. www.www.senes.ca/synfuel By KELLY LOUISEIZE Northern Ontario Business Northern Ontario Business is a Canadian magazine, which publishes monthly in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. The magazine covers business news and issues in Northern Ontario. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion