The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) Carbon Management in BC Call for Applied Research:

Community Fire Interface Biomass Utilization for Heating Fuel

Many rural communities in BC are faced with increasing heating costs and growing demand for heat, yet are also surrounded by a rich resource of an alternative local, low-carbon heating fuel: biomass. This project will contribute to the implementation of biomass heating systems in rural BC communities by exploring the potential for generating woody biomass fuel by managing the forested areas surrounding communities in a manner that also reduces the risk of wildfires. "Many communities recognize the need to reduce fuel loading in their surrounding forests to mitigate fire risks", explains University of British Columbia researcher David Flanders, "and this project will demonstrate how this material can be used locally as an energy source".

Three institutions will be involved in the year-long study starting in the fall of 2011: The University of British Columbia (UBC), and BC-based non-profit organizations The Community Energy Association (CEA) and The Green Heat Initiative (GHI). The partnership brings together sophisticated forest ecosystem modeling and research with expert knowledge on alternative energy technologies and effective outreach to help bridge the gap between alternative energy planning and implementation for small communities that may not have the capacity to conduct such feasibility studies themselves. "The team incorporates research, engineering as well as outreach, with a focus on helping municipalities work through challenges related to low-carbon planning", says Dale Littlejohn, Director of the CEA.

Dr. Juan A. Blanco, the Principal Investigator for the project at UBC, will be simulating forest fuel supplies while monitoring for ecosystem and soil health for three rural communities across BC including, but not limited to: Burns Lake, Invermere and Sicamous. Once this early modeling work is complete, the technical and economic feasibility of integrating biomass into the local fuel supply stream will be demonstrated. These three communities (see map below) will serve as representative examples of regions that account for much of the forested area across BC: the Okanagan, Kootenays and the North. Products expected from the study include maps of each community's forest interface area with quantified estimates of its biomass resource potential from different management scenarios. An accessible tool will be made available for other communities not specifically included in the study to assist them in making their own generalized assessments. David Dubois, project coordinator for the Green Heat Initiative notes that this is a unique strength of the initiative: "It's a community-wide approach that many can use. This will help ensure the applicability of the study results to other rural communities throughout the province interested in developing their green energy sector."

Partners:

For more information, please contact David Flander: (david.flanders@ubc.ca) or Juan Blanco (juan.blanco@ubc.ca)