$22.7 million for Domtar's Dryden pulp mill

Domtar is received $22.7 million for its Dryden, Ontario pulp mill under the Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program (PPGTP).

The funding will be used for two capital improvement projects that will increase the mill's operational efficiencies and its production of green, clean electricity.

Project details:

• Installing a second steam condenser to operate its wood waste boilers at a higher capacity and its turbine more efficiently. This measure is expected to produce an additional 43,000 mega-watt hours (MWh) of electricity per year.


• Installing a second high-pressure turbogenerator to increase the production of renewable electricity through use of high pressure and high temperature steam generated by the recovery boiler. This measure is expected to produce an additional 85,400 MWh of electricity per year.

These upgrades will eliminate the need for Domtar to purchase over 11 MWh of power.

This will nearly balance the mill’s production and consumption of electricity, enhancing the mill’s environmental and commercial sustainability.

The Dryden mill has been in operation since 1911 and was acquired by Domtar in 2007.

The mill produces bleached softwood kraft pulp and handles chipped fibre through to finished pulp production and packaging.

It also deals with a range of chemical treatment processes, as well as water and effluent treatment.

The pulp and paper green transformation program provides companies with credits based on their use of black liquor ($0.16/litre) between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009.

Black liquor is a liquid by-product of the pulping process used to generate heat and power.

Firms then have until March 31, 2012, to draw on these credits to finance approved capital projects that offer demonstrable environmental benefits, such as improvements to their energy efficiency or their capacity to produce alternative energy.

The program is capped at $1 billion and total payments to Canadian industry will not exceed this amount.

Thirty-eight pulp and paper mills across Canada, representing 24 companies, generated credits under the pulp and paper green transformation program based on their 2009 production levels of black liquor.

By investing in clean energy technologies, this program is helping the forest industry contribute to the growth of a domestic clean energy industry, creating and maintaining high-quality jobs for Canadians, and helping to protect and preserve our environment.

Source: Government of Canada