The Tlicho Government is exploring a the feasibility of an integrated Green Energy Project consisting of three main facilities: a Biomass Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Plant, a Commercial Greenhouse, and a Wood Pellet Factory.

Our Goals

• Energy Independence: Reduce our reliance on imported diesel by generating renewable heat and electricity locally.
• Forest Regeneration: Utilize standing dead trees from the 2023 wildfires as fuel, clearing the land to replant one million new trees.
• Local Economy: Create permanent local jobs and produce valuable goods—wood pellets for sale and tree seedlings for reforestation.
• Sustainability: Drastically lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional diesel-fueled operations.

The project is designed so that waste from one component becomes fuel for another.

This way we're maximizing efficiency and minimizing waste.

• The Source: We harvest dead timber from wildfire-damaged forests.
• The Power Plant (Biomass CHP) burns wood and bark in a furnace to generate heat. An Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system converts a portion of this heat into electricity.
• The Greenhouse uses the heat from the power plant to grow seedlings year-round, even during -30°C winters.
• The Pellet Factory uses the heat to dry wet wood chips before they are pressed into fuel pellets.
• The Output: Electricity powers the buildings, seedlings restore the forest, and premium wood pellets are sold to market.

The feedstock for this project comes from the aftermath of the devastating 2023 wildfire season, which left vast swaths of dead timber.

• Resources: There are approximately 130 million standing dead trees (mostly Black Spruce) available on Tlicho Lands.
• Sustainability: Harvesting these trees reduces the fuel load for future forest fires and prepares the land for replanting.
• Processing: Trees are harvested and brought to the site. The high-quality wood is turned into pellets, while bark and lower-quality waste wood are fed into the CHP furnace to power the facility.

The CHP plant uses a biomass furnace to heat thermal oil. This system is about 80% efficient, making it far more effective than conventional engines.

• Pellet Factory (High Demand): The factory is the biggest heat user. Raw wood chips arrive with ~55% moisture and must be dried to 10% moisture before they're ready to become wood pellets. This drying process consumes the majority of the heat generated.
• Greenhouse: Heating requirements depend heavily on the seasons because of the large temperature differences.
• Winter: Requires significant heating (Peak: 2.52 MMBtu/hr) to maintain a temperature of 26°C when it is -30°C outside.
• Summer: Heating demand drops significantly, allowing excess heat to potentially be used for district heating in the nearby community.

We plan on utilizing Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology.

Unlike complex steam turbines that require specialized engineers, ORC uses a safe organic fluid to drive a generator. It is easier to operate in remote locations and requires less specialized staffing. A typical configuration (two 12 MMBtu units) generates approximately 1,120 kW of electricity.

• Pellet Factory: High power consumption for heavy machinery like debarkers, grinders, and pellet mills (approx. 1,763 kW for a 30,000-ton plant).
• Greenhouse: Requires power for LED grow lights, irrigation, and ventilation (approx. 576 kW).
• Grid Reliance: The CHP plant cannot generate enough electricity to fully power the Pellet Factory. The facility will need to draw additional power from the grid, but the cost savings from the heat generation help offset this.

Biomass is considered biogenic.

It releases only the carbon the trees absorbed while growing. The net CO2 emission is effectively zero.

Diesel Alternative

• To match the heat and power of this facility using diesel would require burning millions of liters of fuel annually.
• A diesel-only operation would emit over 5,000 tons of CO2 per year just for heating. Using biomass eliminates these fossil fuel emissions.

Building these facilities is a significant intial investment. Capital expenses (CAPEX) for the development of the Green Energy Project are listed below.

The annual or operational expenses (OPEX) for the facilities are as follows. Please select a component for a breakdown of expenses.