A Montreal company plans to convert the cellulose plant in Thurso, in the Outaouais, whose closure led to the loss of more than 300 jobs, into a pellet production plant and a biomass power plant.
“We are proposing the conversion of this plant into a renewable fuel factory [plus précisément de granules] and [de] electricity generation [alimentée par un système de cogénération de biomasse résiduelle] reads a recent registration of the Plant-E company in the register of companies.
The Montreal company invests in renewable energy and clean infrastructure, in addition to overseeing projects related to decarbonization.
At the end of March, in partnership with Hydromega Services, Plant-E acquired the Haute-Yamaska cogeneration plant in Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton. With a capacity of 2.0 MW, the plant uses the biogas produced by the Roland Thibault landfill site, which is adjacent to it, to produce electricity sold to Hydro-Québec under a contract to ‘purchase.
In its plan to relaunch the Thurso plant, Plant-E would focus in particular on the production of compressed wood pellets, resulting from the transformation of chips, sawdust and shavings. The second component, that of a biomass power plant, would consist of setting up a system using these wood residues to produce not only electricity, but also steam that can be used for industrial heating, for example.
The CEO of the company, Pierre Plante, did not respond to calls from the To have to. For its part, the BCF firm, which represents the company in its dealings with the Ministries of the Economy, Forests and the Executive Council, indicated by email that it would not “comment on the files of [ses] clients “.
Revival hopes
Recall that the cellulose factory of the company Fortress, in Thurso, first temporarily stopped its activities in October 2019. The reason then mentioned: the drop in Chinese demand for clothing textiles, and therefore the necessary materials to their manufacture, like the dissolving paste produced by the installations.
The cessation of activities, which was to last only a few months, finally turned into a permanent closure. Since then, attempts have been made to revive the plant’s activities.
The mayor of Thurso, Benoit Lauzon, recalls that the town of 3,000 inhabitants suffered the brunt of this closure: 40% of the 330 people who lost their jobs lived in the municipality. “About 120 families have been affected by the closure. And for a city like ours, it’s also all the businesses that were also hard hit: they profited from what the employees consumed. »
The Plant-E project is part of a list of initiatives planned to revive the plant’s activities, he said. “Other companies are interested in the site. Around four or five companies are still in discussion with the Ministry of the Economy on this subject. “Any project to relaunch the plant will have to take into consideration the needs of the Outaouais region, believes the elected official: “One million cubic meters [de résidus de bois] were treated there. So, what are we going to do with this wood, this quantity? The project must respond to this. »
Meetings have taken place between the Ministry of the Economy and companies “in the last few weeks”, assures the mayor of Thurso, who hopes that a project can be announced shortly.