Canfor upgrades Prince George mill and saves enough power for 39,000 homes

Temec Engineering and UDL of Vancouver are the mechanical and electrical engineers respectively for a project to upgrade the Canadian Forest Products (Canfor) pulp and paper mill in Prince George, B.C.
The $81-million cogeneration project involves installing a 48-MW turbo generator at the mill. The project will provide enough electricity to serve that mill and the Intercontinental Pulp Mill.
B.C. Hydro is contributing $49 million to the project under its Power Smart conservation project. Canfor is one of the utility’s largest industrial customers and the plant upgrade will save the utility enough electricity to serve 39,000 homes.
Besides the new turbo-generator, upgrades will be carried out on the residue handling and conditioning system. The project also involves modifications to the pulp mill boilers and processes to optimize steam produced for electricity. The project is scheduled for completion by February 2005.
The agreement with Canfor is BC Hydro’s second reached with a large industrial customer and the utility is considering more. Bev Van Ruyven, Senior Vice-President of Distribution at BC Hydro, said in October that the conservation program under Power Smart will play an important role in the future: “As demand for new supply increases, Power Smart will play a more significant role in our electricity acquisition strategy. It is key to providing British Columbians iwth the lowest-cost power possible.”
Duncan & Associates is project manager.