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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 18, 2008 ~ liil , - I - I . -, , PICKERING Minutes I Meeting Summary Sustainable Pickering Advisory Committee Monday, September 15, 2008 3:30 pm Main Committee Room Attendees: Doug Dickerson, Chair Jennifer O'Connell, City councillor, Ward 1 David Pickles, City Councillor, Ward 3 Tom Melymuk, Director, Office of Sustainability Shawna Mutton, Coordinator, Community Sustainability Jack McGinnis, Durham Sustain Ability Renee Michaud, Councillors' Office, Recording Secretary Guests: Gregory Vogt, President, Eastern Power Matt Harmer, Project Manager, Eastern Power Etienne Middleton, Eastern Power Bob Hunter, Prince Edward County Farms Item / Details & Discussion & Conclusion Action Items/Status Ref# (summary of discussion) (include deadline as appropriate) 1. Welcome Councillor Dickerson Welcome and introductions. 2. Eastern Power Councillor Dickerson Eastern Power and Bob Hunter, farming partner; were invited to discuss the Biomass Trial at Eastern Power's Brock West Landfill Gas Power Plant. Bob Hunter advised that we need to start testing other energy sources as many other parts of the world are already using other sources from non-food agricultural crops such as straw, corn stover, switchgrass and miscanthus to replace ethanol. What we are proposing today is still at the initial development stages of the project. Corn stover has the potential of being a good grass energy source, but we have yet to determine growing, handling, harvesting and storage. Bob suggested that we look at all sources of energy, i.e., corn ethanol, etc. He noted that these farming methods are Page 1 CORP0228-2/02 very common in Europe, but new in North America. Matt Harmer's role is to develop the project. Etienne Middleton's role is business development and financing and Greg Vogt is the President of Eastern Power undertaking this pilot project. Tom Melymuk advised that Jack McGinnis is our consultant for Sustainable Pickering. A number of energy companies have experimented with biomass in the past by using co-firing methods. Eastern Power is preparing a business case to be submitted to the provincial government seeking funding to assist with startup costs of the Biomass Trial pilot project. They would like to include the support of the local communities where the pilot project is being conducted in their business case. Tom confirmed that the City is being asked to endorse the pilot project over the next 5 t01 0 years. Presentation Overview - Target is to test Biomass to produce % of Brock's available electricity capacity (5 MW) - Plan to develop in 3 distinct phases: funding; growing; testing - Biomass would be sourced from locally grown non- food agricultural crops such as straw, corn stover and energy crops like switchgrass and miscanthus Target operation by the 3rd year - 5 MW of electricity production, using 5,000 acres of land dedicated to energy crop - 30,000 tonnes of biomass per year, delivery by 12 trucks per business day Timeline Biomass Program to be developed in 3 stages starting with: - 2009 - Development and securing provincial funding - 2010 - Adaptation of plant and crop establishment - 2011 - Testing phase Traffic 12 trucks per business day coming from the north; not from the populated areas to the south. Brock Road to be used as major arterial roadway. Truck traffic to contribute to 1 truck per house during business days. Page 2 CORP0228-2/02 Fit with Pickering's Sustainability Plans If the "target" biomass generation of 5 MW is achieved, 35,000 tones of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions would be offset annually. Note that these GHG emission reductions are equivalent to 3.5 X Pickering's Municipal Operations' annual emissions and over 100/0 of Pickering's 2016 reduction target. It was further noted that funding from the government of Ontario's green investment strategies (IDF and others) would flow into Pickering. Local green collar jobs would be maintained and expanded. Local sustainable farming would be supported and green energy would be produced at an existing facility and used locally. Councillor Dickerson indicated that burning coal is not an option but what are the residual effects of -the ash produced as a byproduct of burning non-food crops. The ash byproduct and particulates meet all Ministry standards and are not harmful to the environment. Councillor O'Connell stated some concerns over the emissions from the burning process and the GHG used in the transportation as well. Greg mentioned that the emissions from burning plants are released as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which also creates a gain in solar energy. The total emissions are equalized as the product creates positive energy. Research data from scientific studies is available upon request. In summary, Eastern Power is seeking the City of Pickering's endorsement of the Biomass Trial Project at the Brock West Power Plant to proceed in requesting funding from the province. Councillor Dickerson suggested Community Information Sessions should be held prior to submitting the recommendations to Council. The sessions would include participation from Eastern Power and members of the Sustainable Pickering Committee. Public feedback is very important and they need to understand what the Biomass Pilot Project includes, i.e, growing non-food crops for energy sources. Page 3 CORP0228-2/02 Tom Melymuk enquired if Eastern Power has considered partnership with Universities, such as Guelph University. All test results will be made public and the process will be very accountable. It was suggested that Jack could prepare an agenda for the Community Information Sessions with possible questions and answers. This item should be referred as an agenda item at a future meeting. Councillor O'Connell expressed some concerns about presenting this to the public and agreed that we should be fully prepared prior to holding the Community Information Sessions. It is imperative that the public understand that this pilot project has not yet been approved by Council. Feedback from all the Community Information Sessions should be included in the business case to be submitted to the province. The Community Information Sessions should be held for all residents of Pickering. 3. Jack McGinnis, Tom Melymuk and Greg Vogt to meet to prepare questions and answers for CIS for discussion at the next meeting. Sustainable Pickering Challenge - Website - Sponsorship Tom mentioned that the Sustainable Pickering website will be upgraded to be more interactive. An RFP will be issued shortly. This is a pilot project which may lead to a complete overhaul of the city website as well. The intent is to acquire sponsorship for the new website to build strong community partnership and funding. Some concerns were noted with regards to a possible list of sponsors and community partners. Shawna advised that the criteria and levels of sponsorship need to be determined and once they have a draft proposal it will be forwarded to Members of Council for their review and approval. CORP0228-2/02 Item to be referred to agenda for next meeting. Thomas Melymuk Shawna Mutton I te m to be refe rred to next meeting for further discussion. Page 4 It was agreed that this would be referred to the next meeting for further discussion and comment. 4. Shawna distributed a list of potential sponsors with the intent of asking Members of Council for review and advise if they can assist with recruiting sponsorship. Measuring Sustainability The results of the Town hall meetings were circulated to everyone who participated. The summarized report and indicators were circulated to Members of Council. Tom indicated that the next step is to prepare a list with indicators and descriptions. Establish a baseline and targets. 5. A survey will be sent out in early 2009 to determine where we are on sustainability. Other Business Enquiries received from residents about possible car pool lot areas and whether the city would provide this type of space for commuters. 6. It was noted that this is usually a provincial responsibility, but that we could provide links on our website for locations and a notice about the Smart Commute program. Next Meeting - Energy Focus Counciilor Pickles suggested holding discussions with builders on energy sources (heating and cooling) and developing standards to be used for Duffin Heights and Seaton. He also suggested to tour the LEED energy home in Oshawa (built by Marshall) to get a better idea of what energy options are readily available. Councillor O'Connell mentioned to invite companies with new energy sources to a future meeting to show us their products. Councillor Dickerson advised that he has been in contact with the Fire Chief in order to arrange for a visit of the new Ajax Fire Hall on Salem Road. Meeting Adjourned: 5:20 pm CORP0228-2/02 Jack McGinnis ALL Councillor Pickles Page 5