Northern Pulp could save up to C$7M/year from switching Abercrombie Point, Nova Scotia, NBSK pulp mill to natural gas; Heritage Gas laying C$17.8M pipeline, should have gas flowing to pulp mill by February

Debra Garcia

LOS ANGELES , November 15, 2013 (Industry Intelligence) – Northern Pulp Nova Scotia Corp. is in the process of converting its Abercrombie Point, Nova Scotia, pulp mill to natural gas, and expects to save up to C$7 million/year on energy costs, The Chronicle Herald reported on Nov. 14.

Heritage Gas Ltd. is laying a $17.8-million pipeline from its main line to the Abercrombie Point mill, and the northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp producer should start receiving gas by February, a gas company spokesperson said.

The mill manufactures 275,000 tonnes/year of NBSK pulp, primarily for export, according to Northern Pulp's website.

Pictou County Chamber of Commerce President Burt Langille said energy was the second or third largest expense for many businesses. He also noted that the cost of converting natural gas was a deterrent to some.

Natural gas can save users 20% to 50% of their energy costs, excluding the expense of converting, according to The Chronicle Herald.

However, before other Nova Scotia towns such as New Glasgow or Stellarton are connected to natural gas, other large consumers need to be signed up.

Peter Allen, a professor of mechanical engineering at Dalhousie University, said Heritage Gas had not expanded its network sufficiently, meaning essentially only major commercial and government institutions and those on a main line could get hooked up. He told The Chronicle Herald Nova Scotia was “the only jurisdiction in the world where you have natural gas running everywhere and don’t have the distribution system in place to bring it to homes and smaller businesses.”

The primary source of this article is The Chronicle Herald, Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Nov. 14, 2013.

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