Liberal bill would require considering wood heat for N.S. public buildings

Liberal House leader Iain Rankin says a bill his party tabled last week at Province House would create new markets for the forestry industry while helping to heat public buildings with something other than oil.

The Wood Chip Heating Systems in Public Buildings Act would require Nova Scotia government officials to consider wood heat systems in all new public buildings or in cases of major retrofits, including for schools and hospitals.

In an interview last week, Rankin said there would be multiple benefits to the initiative.

"For the climate, because it is a renewable resource. It could be a cost savings to the province because of the volatility of oil prices — so it's displacing oil — and it creates a good economic advantage to areas of the province that are predominantly rural."

Rankin said the bill is a nod to the 2018 Lahey report on sustainable forestry practices, which advocated for the use of efficient wood heat as a way to create markets for wood chips and low-grade forestry byproducts from ecological forestry. The industry has struggled to find such markets since the shutdown of the Northern Pulp mill in Pictou County five years ago.

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When Rankin was lands and forestry minister in a former Liberal government, he said there was an extensive list of public buildings that could be converted to wood heat. Since the change in government in 2021, however, he said it seems like there is less interest in using wood heat. He called on Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton to champion the cause as a way to promote more ecological forestry and create economic development for rural communities.

In a recent interview, Rushton said he's interested in exploring new markets for low-grade wood and chips, and noted an ongoing assessment of the viability of a new pulp mill in Queens County and the potential creation of a hub for sustainable aviation fuel that would use biomass as part of the process.

Rankin's bill comes on the heels of a report from Nova Scotia-based TorchLight Bioresources, which makes the case for the development of biomass combined heat and power plants, along with associated district heating networks, throughout the province.

Another option that incorporates wood heat

The plants would be fuelled with low-grade wood products and the byproducts of ecological forestry, with generated electricity going into the grid and generated heat being delivered to homes and buildings through a network of underground pipes. The process is common in countries such as Denmark, Finland and Sweden, according to the report.

"None of this is experimental, this is actually what has driven decarbonization in these [countries]," Jamie Stephen, TorchLight's managing director, said in a recent interview.

Although the establishment of the power plants and pipe networks would cost billions of dollars, the report points to financing options through pension funds and private-sector equity investment without relinquishing ownership. Co-operative ownership, which is common in Europe, is another option.

Stephen said combined district heat and power plant systems would help control heating costs in the province while making Nova Scotia less dependent on energy imports and positioning the province to become a net exporter of energy.