Power Generation Facilities Provide Competitive Advantage
Energy costs account for a large proportion of operating costs for papermakers in North America. AbitibiBowater is fortunate in that it is able to generate a significant amount of its power requirements through Company-owned generating capacity. These energy assets represent significant value-creation potential. The Company optimizes its energy efficiency by implementing a strategy to capitalize its power plant assets. Our 765 megawatts of installed capacity at 22 hydroelectric and cogeneration facilities provide us with a keen competitive advantage.
We have eight sites with cogeneration facilities which generate "green energy” from carbon-neutral biomass. The latest example of our continued commitment to reducing the use of fossil fuels is our C$80 million, 46-megawatt biomass power generation project at Fort Frances, Ontario. It produces enough energy for about 30,000 homes.
AbitibiBowater also utilizes other alternative fuels such as methane from landfills, used oil, and tire-derived fuels to reduce consumption of virgin fossil fuels. In 2006 we diverted from landfills enough tires to outfit more than 200,000 cars and recaptured their energy.
Hydroelectric and Cogeneration Facilities