Replacement of No. 2 Fuel Oil with Locally-sourced Pellets

The Municipality of Taschereau is located in the RMC of Abitibi-Ouest. It has suffered devitalization as a result of the closing of the Tembec sawmill in 2011. The Municipality of Taschereau wants to distinguish itself in order to grow its population and its services. The aim of the initiative is to improve the energy efficiency of municipal facilities, primarily by changing from an oil heating system (furnace) to a biomass heating system for one building, the municipal garage. The objective and the environmental benefits of implementing this initiative are that it will replace 100% of the fossil fuel (oil) with the residual biomass from the Beauchamp distillery’s industrial waste and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 1,491 tonnes of CO2 eq./year: 11 tonnes of CO2 eq./year avoided by heating the municipal garage and 1,480 tonnes CO2 eq./year avoided by collecting and transporting and the release of methane at the landfill site. The Municipality of Taschereau will measure the time and workforce needed for maintaining the new equipment and ensure that it does in fact meet the municipality’s needs. It will measure the energy and financial savings. It will analyze the operation of the heating system, for example, the ashes produced by combustion, and ensure that its solutions for disposing of the ashes are valid. It will also raise awareness among the public and the other municipalities concerning the use of renewable energy. The evaluation of the threefold results of the pilot project will be done using the tool developed during the design of the sustainable neighbourhood development action plan for Taschereau (GMF 13079). Two actions in that plan will also be set in motion through this project. The municipal employees who use the garage have been consulted regarding their needs and expectations and their ideas throughout the preparation of the project. They will also be consulted during the pilot project, to validate their satisfaction. Within the RMC of Abitibi-Ouest, the Municipality of Taschereau will be a pioneer. This project represents the first transition from oil heating to residual biomass heating for non-residential buildings in Taschereau. A post-project summary showing the implementation costs and the financial and environmental savings and return on investment achieved will be presented, to give concrete form to the possibilities. If the pilot project is found to be conclusive, the Municipality of Taschereau intends to include the school and church and a second garage in the heating network, and this would avoid 7.4 to 15 tonnes CO2 eq. per building, for a total of 37.5 tonnes CO2 eq. In addition, to optimize the environmental benefits, the Municipality of Taschereau will do an analysis of the energy efficiency of the building and implement energy efficiency measures such as temperature control, raising employee awareness, and optimizing working methods. The deliverables are the analysis of the building’s energy efficiency and the report on the pilot project, consisting of a summary and the results. (Project description from original funding application)