Province funds mill upgrades in Thunder Bay to boost biomass use and protect jobs

What is happening

• Ontario is investing more than $2.5 million through the Forest Biomass Program to fund upgrades at Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper and two other Northwestern projects.

Who gets funding

• Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper: more than $2.4 million for boiler and chemical plant upgrades.
• AUX Energy (Fort Frances): $92,500 to plan a biomass-powered generator project.
• Weyerhaeuser: $32,650 for a study on production line upgrades.

By the numbers (from the release)

• Targeted production gain: kraft output at Thunder Bay expected to rise by 11%.
• Biomass demand: creates a market for over 130,000 tonnes of forest biomass each year.
• Emissions/energy reductions: bleaching chemical use down ~30%; natural gas use cut by over 5 million cubic metres annually (equivalent to heating about 2,000 Northern Ontario homes for a year, per the release).
• Jobs protected: the projects are said to protect over 700 direct jobs and more than 3,350 indirect jobs.

Why it matters

• Upgrades aim to strengthen the forest sector’s supply chain and energy security, increase use of underutilized wood and mill by-products, and improve competitiveness in global markets.

Program context

• These investments are part of the Forest Biomass Program and the government’s "Roadmap to Protecting Ontario’s Forest Sector." The release also notes the program has committed over $86 million to 74 projects since May 2023.