Biohope in BC
Dec 30, 2009
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I have mentioned several times the potential for dimethyl ether (DME) as a viable fuel source. The race for harvesting DME is between East Asia, Sweden, and now Canada. Another company, Calgary-based GV Energy, has plans on opening a DME plant in Terrace, British Columbia.Like many forestry towns in the Pacific Northwest, Terrace has been hit hard by changing global economic forces. Once Terrace was known as the cedar pole capital of the world. Over 50,000 telephone and energy poles left Terrace, ending up all over North America, the tallest of which still stands in New York City. In 2001, however, Terrace hit hard times when its largest employer, Skeena Cellulose Inc., closed its doors. Economic recovery has been wobbly since then, but now a more green economy can give this northwest British Columbia a chance at a brighter future.
This opportunity is because of GV Energy, a firm that was founded in 2008 by some venture capitalists looking to start a fund that would invest renewable energy technology firms. Their plans blew up during the 2008 economic meltdown, but the passion was still there. CEO Eric Switzer and his partners had researched DME and became more interested and impressed with DME's future as an alternative to fossil-based fuels.
In November, GV Energy signed an agreement with the city of Terrace to set aside a 100-hectare site in a biorefinery that daily would process up to 3000 cubic meters of wood fiber, plentiful in the forests surrounding the town. GV Energy would then turn the gas resulting from the wood processing into methanol, which would then be processed into DME. Terrace is a natural location for another reason: its railroads have access to Vancouver and the western United States, notably California, which is thirsty for cleaner sources of fuel.
GV Energy will spend the next three years assessing the viability of DME as an alternative fuel. If the market proves fruitful, the company will then sign a long term lease with the city's industrial park. They do not have the easiest task: plenty of folks will be skittish about trees being felled simply to create fuel, and a distribution channel needs to be in place in order for this fuel to have a viable market. But workers in this region need jobs, and had global economic forces tilted another way, it is fair to say many of these trees would be cut anyway--perhaps even more. Hopefully the harvesting of trees will be wisely managed, and the reality is that oil prices will skyrocket again.
I'm curious where GV will be in three years. If you know of any other DME projects out there, we want to hear about them.
