Interfor looking into building a co-gen plant in Grand Forks, B.C.

International Forest Products Ltd. (Interfor) is looking into overhauling its sawmill in Grand Forks, British Columbia, along with adding a co-generation station.

“We are investigating the possibility of building a plant which would be done in a complimentary fashion to building a co-gen facility on the same site. Interfor is definitely looking at the possibility of building a new sawmill in Grand Forks. If constructed the new mill would replace the existing mill. At the same time we’re also investigating the possibility of building a co-gen plant on the same site that would utilize the sawmill residuals as the primary source of fuel,” said Ric Slaco, Interfor's vice president and chief forester.

The co-gen facility would produce between 15-20 megawatts of power for the grid, as well as heat and power to run their dry kilns.

The Mayor of Grand Forks, Brian Taylor, said:

“We met with Interfor and they outlined their plans for expansion of the plant. It was also made clear that keeping the railway alive was not a deal breaker but will cost them financially. It’s too early to speculate but with having that extra power available for our peak periods we can in effect reduce our contract with FortisBC to reflect our ability to top up peak periods. We’re going to save the people in Grand Forks considerable money.”

Overhauling the Grand Forks sawmill, and adding a co-generation project is estimated at $100 million.

Read more about Interfor's idea:

Interfor looking to invest $100 million (Boundary Sentinel)