The new NDP government in Nova Scotia has just granted permission for NewPage to cut down trees on Crown land to use for fuel rather than for fibre.

NewPage is now one step closer to building a multimillion-dollar power plant that burns wood and generates steam to help run machinery.

"What we would be looking to do is develop a biomass-fired cogeneration plant, so that is using some existing boiler capacity we have to burn biomass to produce steam," said Bill Stewart, director of woodlands at NewPage.

New Page wants to use the steam to run through a turbine to generate electricity. Any waste steam generated from the process would be used to help manufacture paper.

Premier Darrell Dexter said the cabinet's approval does not guarantee the project will go forward. "It doesn't do anything except provide the consent for them to take the wood fibre if they can get a deal that they can agree on, and that's really the sum and substance of it," he said.

A larger project that would have also generated electricity for sale to Nova Scotia Power was turned down earlier this year by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

Source:
NewPage gets permission to cut trees for fuel (CBC)