Whitehorse biomass project makes debut at Yukon conference

A conference opening in Whitehorse Tuesday will show off the territory's newest biomass heating project.

Biomass energy uses organic matter to heat buildings and produce power. This newbiomass project uses waste wood to generate heat at a Whitehorse recycling centre.

"People had to drive brush and and add it to the dump and they have to deal with it so this way it can be shredded and used to heat buildings so there could be potentially alotofbiomass, alot ofclean wood used to displace fuel," saidChris Schmidt, with ACS Mechanical of Whitehorse.

Schmidt presented his idea to the Cold Climate Innovation branch at the Yukon Research Centre. Schmidt says the system uses all types of waste wood.

The biomassheating project is now operating at Raven Recycling. Schmidt said it is operating at about 88 per cent efficiency.

The two-day Yukon BiomassForumwill look at other innovative projects across the country. It will also include presentations on district heating, landfill gasification and biomass opportunities for First Nations.

A biomass heating system has been in operation at the Whitehorse Correction Centre since 2012. In February, the territorial government adopted a biomass energy strategy that urges Yukoners to choose wood over fossil fuels for home heating.