The Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change is taking comment until Feb. 23 on what should be covered in a planned environmental assessment for an ash landfill at a biomass-fired plant of Atlantic Power LP.
The environmental assessment will cover a new waste disposal site at the Calstock Power Plant. Atlantic Power (APLP) is currently determining the best solution for long-term management of the ash generated from biomass combustion at the plant, which is located in the Township of Stoddart, in the District of Cochrane, Ontario.
The plant currently disposes of the residual wood ash generated by biomass combustion with an existing landfill on the APLP property. There are four ash landfill cells and APLP is in the process of filling the last available cell (Cell 4). The maximum capacity of Cell 4 is expected to be exhausted by 2018 at which point APLP will be looking for an alternative solution for disposal of ash.
As landfill is presently the only proven option for disposal of the wood ash at the plant, two sites are currently under consideration by APLP for the construction of a new landfill. One site is located within Crown land located north of the plant. The other site is within the existing Hearst Municipal Landfill property.
The Calstock Power Plant was originally built in 2000 to address biomass problems experienced by local saw mills. To manage this waste, the biomass is burned at the plant to generate electricity, which is then sold to the Ontario Electricity Financial Corp.
