2009 Phase II – Community-Based Biomass Projects RFQ

On March 5, 2009, BC Hydro issued a news release announcing the launch of the second phase of the Bioenergy Call for Power. The Community-Based Biomass Projects Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is one of the two streams announced as part of this second phase.

Phase II – Community-Based Biomass Projects RFQ (Phase II CBB)

The Community-Based Biomass Projects Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is intended to encourage innovative, community-level energy supply solutions using carbon-neutral biomass fuel sources. Consistent with the community-level focus, eligible projects will be no larger than five megawatts (MW) and will need to provide cost-effective electricity for the integrated electricity system, as well as quantifiable, local or regional electricity benefits such as improved reliability.

Communities, First Nations, municipalities, independent power producers (IPPs), as well as other stakeholders are encouraged to participate. BC Hydro seeks to qualify at least two projects to engage in negotiations after this RFQ process is complete, which may result in Electricity Purchase Agreements being awarded with respect to the qualified proposals. In addition, BC Hydro expects to learn from this RFQ as it explores how it may contribute to the development of distributed generation in the province.

Any form of clean, carbon-neutral energy from biomass fuel sources will be eligible as long as it meets the Province's Clean or Renewable Electricity Definitions [PDF, 38 Kb]. This includes underutilized forest-based biomass (e.g. trees and wood chips) and those using other forms of biomass from renewable organic matter such as crops, aquatic plants, manure or clean organically sourced material separated from municipal solid waste (MSW) and processed to serve as a combustion fuel. More information on eligibility requirements can be found in the RFQ.

RFQ Proposal Registration and Proposal Preparation Workshops

Registration for the CBB RFQ is now open. Note that there is no registration fee, and registration is non-binding. Please see Schedule 3 of the final RFQ documents to register.

To help registered RFQ Respondents better understand the submission requirements, BC Hydro is planning small workshops for registered Respondents only. The locations and dates of these workshops are yet to be determined and will be influenced by the registrations received by November 30, 2009. If you are considering submitting a proposal for this RFQ, we encourage you to register as soon as is feasible, in order to help us plan and structure these workshops.

Interested parties are encouraged to email BC Hydro with any questions.

Phase II CBB Schedule  

The Phase II CBB RFQ timetable (Schedule 2) has been updated and can be found on the Documents page.

Inquiries and mailing list 

Please email us your question or join our mailing list to keep up-to-date on the latest Community-Based Biomass RFQ updates.