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Vol. 91 Issue 6 • Wednesday, February 5, 2014 • www.arrowlakesnews.com • 250-265-3823 • $1.25 •
THE SWITCH
ALEX COOPER Arrow Lakes News
Mayor Karen Hamling turns on the switch at the Village of Nakusp’s new microhydro power plant. The plant uses the village’s existing water collection infrastructure to generate power that will be fed into BC Hydro’s power grid. It is expected that the 50 kilowatt, 600V power plant will generate about $100 per day, or $35,000 per year, for the village. The power plant was built in conjunction with the village’s new water treatment plant and was funded through a federal gas tax Innovations Fund grant.
Contributed by the Village of Nakusp
Chlorine incident sparks scare at NSS Arrow Lakes News
Nakusp Secondary School is investigating an incident where several students and a teacher were exposed to chlorine gas in the metal shop last week. Village of Nakusp Fire Chief Terry Warren told the Arrow Lakes News that the students and teachers were taken to hospital to be checked out after a student inadvertently opened one of
a number of pressurized containers containing chlorine on Thursday, Jan. 30. “They suspect they came out of the science lab years ago and were chucked in the metal shop,” said Warren. “When they were cleaning the shop up, they were exposed and one was open when it shouldn’t have been.” He said the container likely only had a small amount of chlorine gas in it, but that he could smell it in the hallways when
PM40036531
Group makes biomass pitch to Nakusp council
F LIPPING
ALEX COOPER
78195
JAZZ NIGHT
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BACK FROM THE BOAT SHOW
he arrived at the school. He likened the smell to being at the hot springs. Warren said the metal shop was inspected and cleaned out on Saturday. There were no ongoing issues at the school from the incident. NSS principal Natasha Miles did not respond to questions about the incident, saying it was still under investigation, but that the students and teacher were doing fine.
A wood waste energy system in Nakusp appears to be inching closer to reality, although it is still a long ways off. Tom Zeleznik, wearing his citizen’s hat, and not his councillor’s one, made a presentation to council on Jan. 27 about the potential benefits of creating a biomass energy system in Nakusp. The matter has been heard by council before, and this time the issue was discussed for a good 30 minutes. The development of a biomass energy plant has become more urgent as the wood waste builds up at Box Lake Lumber and Pacific Inland Pole. The local mills have so much waste that they’re paying to have it shipped away. As well, biomass is being seen as a cheaper form of heating than electricity, particularly with BC Hydro rates expected to climb by 25 per cent in the coming years and no natural gas available in Nakusp. A biomass energy system could be used to provide heating to large buildings in town, like the schools, village office, hospital and big businesses. “It’s a saving to the village, business, schools and hospital,” Zeleznik told council. “With an over abundance of wood waste, it provides a practical way for wood byproducts to be used.” Last month, Zeleznik and Dan Wiebe, the manager of Box Lake Lumber, visited biomass plants in Revelstoke and Enderby. In Revelstoke, they toured the district energy system that is run by the municipally-owned Revelstoke Community Energy Corporation. The system takes wood waste from the local mill and uses it to heat a number of buildings in town. In Enderby, they got a look at the Fink Machine, a biomass converter developed by Burkhard Fink. The sys-
tem there services eight businesses with a total of 415 kilowatts of energy, with 185 kilowatts worth of future clients waiting to be hooked up. Even with natural gas available in Enderby, they are able to be competitive, said Zeleznik. In Nakusp, which uses electricity for heating, the savings would be even greater. “An initial large capital outlay will provide a long term steady source of revenue, and generate revenue on the savings to the Village of Nakusp,” he said. Grant funding could be obtained to help pay for the system. Beyond the energy savings, a biomass system would be exempt from the carbon tax, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and stop energy dollars from leaving Nakusp, all while providing a way for local mills to dispose of their wood waste, Zelenzik added. That last issue is a pressing one for local mills because of the wood waste buildup. They are paying to have it trucked away and the huge piles could cost them business. “This is a fantastic idea. I know it’s going to take time but our wood supply isn’t going away any time soon and I’d hate to lose business because of it,” said Ken Wanstall of Pacific Inland Pole. “We’re getting close to that stage where if I don’t do something pretty soon, then that could happen. We don’t want to turn any business away.” Wiebe said government officials are pressing Box Lake Lumber to do something about its wood waste. He said Nakusp was an excellent location for a biomass system because there’s no natural gas here, the land is relatively flat and most major buildings are close together, which would reduce the cost of building the heating pipes. “The line is what’s the expensive part,” he said. “I see lots of potential for it to work in Nakusp from all three of those perspectives.”
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