local wood for building and burning a big part of nova scotia's sustainability strategy
4 minute read
a lumber loader moves pulpwood at ledwidge lumber in enfield on thursday.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
waste not, want not.
that’s the message sent thursday by the nova scotia government in its push for wood and wood products to be used in construction and heating in the province.
“we know that we have a tremendous resource with wood here in nova scotia,” public works minister fred tilley said at a thursday morning news conference at ledwidge lumber in enfield.
“we need to make the most of this opportunity in our building materials and heat sources,” tilley said.
“we’re making wood construction and heating a priority in public buildings. it’s one of the many steps we are taking to make nova scotia more self-reliant and energy secure.”
tilley said the focus on wood products aligns with the nova scotia loyal program, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps the province maintain a low carbon economy.
tilley said as the province grows, construction projects are booming and every resource that can be responsibly used is necessary.
public works minister fred tilley promotes the use of wood and wood products for construction and heating at a news conference at ledwidge lumber in enfield on thursday.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
“this makes the perfect time to realize the full potential of the forest industry for building schools, hospitals, homes and so much more,” he said.
natural resources minister tory rushton said the forestry sector brings nearly $2 billion to nova scotia’s economy annually, employing thousands with good-paying jobs.
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“we want to keep those jobs in forestry and add more,” rushton said.
departments prioritizing wood products
all government departments have been directed to look for every opportunity to use mass timber, wood pellets, biomass, biofuels and other products made with wood left over from sustainable harvesting and sawmilling.
“when you think about forestry, most people think of producing lumber,” rushton said. “when timber is harvested the best wood goes to the mills like this one, and it’s an important economic generator.”
natural resources minister tory rushton pushes the use of wood and wood products for construction and heating at a news conference at ledwidge lumber in enfield on thursday.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
rushton said the province produces enough lumber to build 20,000 single family homes each year, exporting about 60 per cent of what is produced to the united states.
“forestry is big business,” he said. “we want to protect and grow that sector by using both traditional and new products.
“there’s lots of material left over from harvesting and milling. this biomass is a renewable resource, it includes low-grade wood that’s left over from harvesting saw logs, it includes chips and sawdust.”
nova scotia’s biomass resource
rushton said the biomass material is readily available across the province and there is no sense in letting it go to waste.
“we can use biomass to make wood pellets and biofuel for heating and clean electricity,” the minister said.
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that has led to the push for wood-product heat in public buildings, rushton said.
“we are about 20 public buildings now that have either been converted (to wood heat) or built from ground up,” rushton said. “they are mostly schools and hospitals and we’re going to have a lot more.”
among the 20 public buildings heated by wood products to date are the new french language elementary school in wedgeport, near yarmouth, riverview and memorial high schools in cape breton, a high school and elementary school in yarmouth, east hants rural high, the bridgewater provincial court, three buildings at perennia park in bible hill, nscc schools in lawrencetown and bridgewater and the south shore regional and valley regional hospitals.
the provincial government is updating design and procurement policies to prioritize the use of wood products in new buildings and renovations and it will soon launch a procurement process to secure partners to provide wood heat systems for more public buildings.
“we’ll keep that momentum going into the future,” rushton said. “we can add more value to our lumber by making mass timber. it’s a lower carbon building material with plenty of strength for large businesses.”
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looking ahead
products such as lumber and sawmill residuals have helped build homes and to generate power for years, said ledwidge lumber president doug ledwidge.
ledwidge lumber president doug ledwidge talks about wood and wood products for construction and heating at a news conference at the family-owned sawmill and planer mill in enfield on thursday.
francis campbell
“now to the future,” he said. “mass timber products such as glulam beams and cross-laminated panels will help build more environmentally friendly, natural buildings.
“the production of low-carbon fuels made from wood residuals and stem wood will assist nova scotia in moving to a less carbon-intensive environment and assist the forest sector that has suffered from the loss of markets for low-grade products.”
ledwidge said the enfield mill in the next couple of years will add a biofuel plant to its yard to convert white wood byproducts, including shavings, sawdust and pulp chips into a liquid heating fuel to be used primarily in the industrial process.
natural momentum, not northern pulp reaction
rushton said the low-grade wood fibre initiative has been in a basket of government things to work on for some time and is not a response to the announcement this week from northern pulp that it would not be building a new kraft mill on the south shore of the province.
“this is actually in response to the economy and the forestry sector of nova scotia,” he said.
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tilley said there are no targets or timelines to transition a specific number or percentage of public buildings to wood-product heating.
rushton said interest in mass timber production has in the past required material sourced from outside nova scotia, saying that will hopefully soon change with the development of the mass timber company, to be headquartered in elmsdale.
patrick crabbe, president and ceo of mass timber company, said the fledgling company has made a deposit on land in the elmsdale business park and is seeking forestry contractors for land clearance.
the federal government has pledged $10 million to support the new manufacturing business that includes partnerships between nova scotian sawmills, glooscap and we’koqma’q first nations and others to build a $192-million industrial plant that should be up and running within 30 months.
the plant will be the first fully integrated mass timber manufacturer in atlantic canada, helping to grow the region’s offsite construction industry and improving access to housing in nova scotia. the plan is to use eastern spruce, currently undervalued in the lumber industry, to create high-value products such as cross-laminated timber panels and glue-laminated beams and columns while providing about 120 new jobs.
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