Cascades in biomass project at boxboard mill

Kingsey Falls, Quebec-based Cascades (TSX: CAS) announced today that its boxboard mill in Savoie, France, would host a biomass fueled electric power generation project to be managed by Gaz de France.

Cascades said the project would enable a 7,500 ton reduction in the coated boxboard mill's carbon dioxide emissions and generate 40 million kilowatt hours of electricity that would be fed into France's transmission grid.

The company, which is involved in the production, conversion and marketing of packaging products and tissue papers principally composed of recycled fibers, said the cogeneration power plant would be operational by 2010.

"This undertaking will make it possible for us to virtually eliminate our use of fossil energy, replacing it with biomass energy, to achieve better control of our energy costs and to pool our equipment operating costs," said Daniel Parrot, managing director of Cascades' La Rochette division in France.

Cascades said the project's use of wood gasification technology would be a first for France.

The company said the €30 million implementation cost of the biomass plant would be covered by Gaz de France.

According to Cascades, the initiative is part of a second call for tenders, pertaining to cogeneration power plants, that the Commission de Regulation de l'Energie issued in France in order to meet the country's renewable energy production objectives.

The commission is an independent administrative body in charge of regulating the French electricity and gas markets.

Cascades also announced another environmentally friendly measure at its La Rochette division, the start-up of a new turbine-driven alternator, also fuelled by biomass.

The company said the alternator project required investments totalling €2 million and would produce 5.4 megawatt hours of electricity.