In Quebec, the natural Christmas trees collected by municipalities after the holidays are generally transformed into compost or mulch, but in Lac-Saint-Jean, they are also recycled to produce… electricity.
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In January, each year, the Saint-Félicien Cogeneration Company, owned by California’s Greenleaf Power, receives the residue from some of the fir trees that people got rid of after the holidays.
The plant, which produces energy from biomass, burns the material in a giant furnace at a temperature of more than 500 degrees to heat water which, transformed into steam, spins a turbine that generates electricity .
David-Alexandre Vincent / QMI AGENCY
Christmas trees represent less than 10% of the material processed each year in Saint-Félicien, as the company mainly sources bark residue from sawmills to produce its electricity. But their contribution is more than appreciated.
“It’s material drier than the bark that we receive from the sawmills, explained the director of the plant, Pascal Turcotte, during our visit to Saint-Félicien. It allows you to have better efficiency when you burn it and it allows you to produce more electricity in the end.”
Reuse that reduces pollutants
Upcycling these green decorations by generating electricity – just like turning them into compost or mulch – reduces the environmental impacts they would cause if sent directly to landfills. .
“If it was buried, there would be methane emissions and water contamination,” said Mr. Turcotte. Here, we are able to avoid these pollutants, firstly because we purify the contaminated water before rejecting it. CO2 comes out of our chimney, yes, but it has nothing to do with the quantities that would be emitted if we did not have our power plant.
Each year, the Saint-Félicien facilities produce 125,000 megawatt hours of electricity which are sold to Hydro-Québec.
This production can supply approximately 10,000 homes over a year.
Other outlets
Alongside the Greenleaf initiative in Saint-Félicien, used trees collected after the Holidays in Lac-Saint-Jean and Saguenay are converted into mulch and compost. Last year, 919 conifers were thus recovered in the region thanks to the “Sapin du bon sens” campaign implemented by the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Forestry Association. Since its inception 31 years ago, more than 180,000 trees have been reused. The organization observes that citizens are increasingly aware.
Elsewhere in Quebec, in Quebec City, for example, trees dropped off by citizens in ecocentres are then sent to the composting centre.
In Montreal, conifers left by citizens along the streets are picked up from door to door to be transformed into compost.
Chips are also produced to supply a thermal power plant in the north of the city in order to produce electricity, as in Saint-Félicien.