Officials from Kruger Kamloops Pulp and Arrow Transportation Systems told the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board on Thursday, Dec. 11, that waste wood left behind by logging and wildfire can remain usable as renewable fuel for decades, while providing both environmental and economic benefits to Interior communities.

The presentation was delivered by Tom Hoffman, fibre manager at Kruger Kamloops Pulp, and Greg Kilba, fibre manager with Arrow Transportation Systems, who outlined how collaboration between industry partners is helping maximize forest fibre rather than burning it in slash piles.

Hoffman explained that Kruger operates both a pulp mill and an energy plant at its Mission Flats site in Kamloops. The energy plant produces approximately 63 megawatts of electricity annually and consumes about 12,000 truckloads of hog fuel — ground waste wood — each year.

“The energy plant is a net exporter of power,” Hoffman told the board, noting that electricity is generated beyond what the mill itself consumes.

Historically, most of that hog fuel came from Interior sawmills, but Hoffman said recent mill closures have reduced supply, forcing Kruger to seek alternative fibre sources to keep the plant operating.

Hoffman also confirmed Kruger is exploring the addition of a hydrogen production facility on the mill property in partnership with Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc. The proposed project would use electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen and remains in the feasibility and engineering stage.

Grinding instead of burning

Kilba told directors that grinding slash piles into hog fuel is increasingly replacing traditional open burning, a shift that significantly reduces emissions while making better use of forest waste.

“Grinding maximizes fibre utilization and has major environmental benefits over burning,” Kilba said.

Arrow Transportation delivers the ground fibre to Kruger’s energy plant, where it is burned in high-efficiency boiler stacks equipped with emissions controls. Kilba said the process produces virtually no visible smoke.

He told the board that each truckload of hog fuel contains enough energy to power one home for a year, a comparison that drew interest from several directors.

Kilba said hog fuel can be produced from material decades old, including standing fire-killed timber, as long as it remains structurally intact. Unlike lumber, which typically must be processed within two years after a fire, hog fuel does not have a short shelf life.

“As long as it’s standing, it’s usable,” Hoffman added. “It’s not the same as lumber.”

Economics and wildfire risk

Both presenters emphasized that while biomass plays a role in wildfire risk reduction — particularly in the wildland-urban interface — it is not economically viable to log forests solely to produce hog fuel under current conditions.

Instead, the model relies on waste fibre already generated through logging, fuel-reduction projects and wildfire recovery efforts. Hoffman pointed to funding through the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, particularly when projects involve First Nations partnerships, as one of the few mechanisms that can make biomass recovery viable in higher-risk areas.

Directors questioned why biomass and cogeneration projects are largely absent from BC Hydro’s recent calls for power, given the volume of low-grade fibre available across the Interior. Hoffman suggested the scale of available waste fibre may be underappreciated at the provincial level.

The board thanked Hoffman and Kilba for the presentation, calling it informative and timely as communities continue to grapple with wildfire mitigation, renewable energy needs and forest industry transitions.

The delegation concluded by thanking the board for its time and support before the meeting moved on to other business.