Ireland, well known as the "Celtic Tiger," has become an industrial showcase for economists around the world. In the early 1970s, one of the most backward regions of Europe began a series of policy initiatives that transformed the country into a knowledge-based economy with a standard of living higher than the United Kingdom and Canada.
One Irish initiative that could apply to Ontario was an energy
policy committed to using indigenous fuel to help offset
expensive imports of oil. That local energy source was peat
fuel, and surprisingly the largest accessible deposits in the
world are in Ontario.
Peat fuel has been a source of heat in Ireland for centuries. Its use for electricity started in the 1950s and supplied just under 40 percent of total power generation by the mid-1960s. Currently, peat fuel supplies about 12 percent of the country's power needs. Last year, two new peat-fired power plants were opened at a cost of $570 million (US).
Brownish-black in color, peat is a material formed from the
partial decomposition of plants under very wet, acidic
conditions.
It is usually made up of two separate layers, the top being
lighter in colour, less decomposed and is used primarily for
horticultural applications while the dark, dense lower layers
are excellent for fuel. Peatlands are mostly found in temperate
areas like Canada, Russia, and Northern Europe and in some
tropical countries like Indonesia.
Evil supernatural places
Peatlands can be described as a wet spongy "floating carpet" of land and are often known as bogs, fens, mires, moors or in Canada muskeg.
Historically these areas have been seen as strange or evil
supernatural places.
Ancient "bog bodies" have been found in many northern European
peatlands, perfectly preserved due to the acidic and anaerobic
conditions. Dating back thousands of years, they were probably
sacrificed to celebrate military victories or punished for
ancient crimes.
Peat energy equals 72 billion barrels of oil
By far, Canada has the biggest deposits in the world, its peatlands covering approximately 170 million hectares. According to a provincial government report, Northern Ontario's vast bogs have the energy equivalent of 72 billion barrels of oil - this province's own version of the Alberta tar sands, none of which is being harvested for energy use.
The Hudson Bay lowlands, encompassing about one quarter of
the province's geography - north of the Precambrian Shield and
hugging the southern shores of James and Hudson Bay - is one of
the largest continuous expanses of peat bog outside of
Siberia.
Finland and Ireland, two of the largest users of peat fuel for
electricity, only contain respectively, about 10 million and
1.2 million hectares of peatlands.
There is strong opposition in Ireland, the United Kingdom and
other European countries to the development of peatlands.
However, many of these countries are densely populated, small
in size and have been harvesting peat-fuel for centuries.
Ireland can comfortably fit into Northern Ontario nine times
over. Irishbased Bord na Mona, the sole producer and supplier
of peat for energy purposes, owns about seven per cent of that
country's peatlands, which amount to just 80,000 hectares.
Fears about high power costs and security of supply during the
oil price hikes of the early 1970s encouraged Finland to
develop its own abundant peat fuel deposits.
Today, problems in oil and gas producing countries and the
voracious energy appetites of China and India ensure that
energy prices remain high and in short supply. We are consuming
two barrels of oil for every one we find. Closer to home,
Ontario must replace its nuclear fleet, the source of almost
half the province's electricity within a decade and a half.
Furthermore, the ruling Liberals are still committed to
unplugging another 17 percent of the province's power
production in 2009 by closing the four coal-fired generating
plants due to pollution concerns.
Cleaner than coal, cheaper than oil
Peat fuel is much cleaner than coal and cheaper than oil and gas. With inexpensive modifications peat fuel can be used by itself or in combination with coal in the existing coal-fired power plants already paid for by the taxpayers.
Peat fuel has only 10 percent of the sulphur content of coal, virtually no mercury and produces less ash waste and dust emissions. Ontario Hydro Research concluded that "an upgraded fuel peat can be effectively co-fired with propane or coal without any serious adverse affects." It's done in Europe to lower coal pollution. Ontario-based Peat Resources Limited's project, centered near the Town of Upsala, approximately 100 kilometers from the two Northern Ontario coal-fired plants at Atikokan and Thunder Bay, is focused on extensive environmental surveys, bulk sample testing and engineering studies. Now, in the second phase of its program, Peat Resources confirms enough peat fuel to sustain production of about one million tonnes per year for more than 20 years. To put this into perspective, every year in Canada, nature adds more than 100 million tonnes to the peat resource base.
In Europe, traditional dry harvesting methods involve stripping and draining large areas and using the sun to dry the peat. European peat-fired power plants use a lower grade peat then the upgraded variety necessary for Ontario's coal-fired generators. Due to northwestern Ontario's cooler climate and costs, Peat Resources intends to use wet harvesting methods to lessen environmental impacts.
Wet harvesting less environmental impact
Wet harvesting, when carried out on smaller parcels of land, allows easier management of water inflow and outflow and minimizes any negative effects on nearby lakes and drainage systems. The peat will then be mechanically dewatered before thermal upgrading for Ontario coal-fired power plants. Wet harvesting from smaller parcels of land also allows quicker start-up of land reclamation activities when the harvest of peat is completed. No resource development is allowed in Ontario without restoration or closure plans. Peat Resource's plans will include the stocking of sports fish, the planting of wild rice and specific contouring of the landscape to establish productive wetlands that support thriving wildfowl populations. Environmental comparisons to the Alberta Tar Sands will be inevitable. However, peat fuel deposits are shallow, seldom deeper than 20 feet, compared to oily bitumen in northern Alberta which can entail monstrously huge open pits that can be up to 300 feet deep.
Ontario is currently studying possible green alternatives for the Atikokan coal plant. The potential biofuels include wood waste and peat fuel, however no decision will be made until late 2006.
Burning peat fuel does release carbon dioxide but this is
balanced by the elimination of methane gas generation from the
peat bogs. This greenhouse gas is 23 times more detrimental to
the environment than CO2. In Europe, former peatlands have
become carbon sinks through reforestation, agricultural use or
restoration to former wetland uses.
Ontario desperate for power
In a recent report, the province's own Independent Electricity
System Operator (IESO) stressed the need to keep the two
southern Ontario coal-fired generating stations at Lambton and
Nanticoke open or else potentially face power blackouts.
By replacing or mixing peat fuel with coal in our existing
coal-fired power plants, pollution emissions will be
significantly lowered, tax-funded infrastructure doesn't need
to be wasted, jobs are created in the north and the province
has secure and inexpensive electricity.
There is no doubt that one of the most critical global issues
of the 21st century will be the availability of secure and
economic sources of energy. What will economically replace coal
in Ontario's energy mix and still sustain the province's
manufacturing might?
Why is the Ontario government ignoring the largest accessible
peat fuel deposits in the world?
Stan Sudol is a Toronto-based communications consultant
who writes extensively on mining and provincial issues.