Seattle (Platts)--15May2007

Canadian developers Pristine Power and Nexterra Energy said Tuesday they
have proposed jointly developing 200-MW in power plants fueled by wood waste
in British Columbia in an investment totaling C$500 million ($455.6 million).

     BC Hydro is evaluating expressions of interest for wood-fueled power
plants and is expected to issue a request for proposals this summer. The
companies plan to respond to the solicitation, said Jeff Myers, president and
CEO of the Calgary-based Pristine.

     The companies envision building about 15 projects ranging in capacity
from 10 MW to 20 MW to be located in communities with access to sufficient
quantities of wood residue. 

     Vancouver, British Columbia-based Nexterra's technology converts waste
wood from mills, abandoned logging slash and trees killed by mountain pine
beetles into synthetic gas, which is used to generate power. 

     BC Hydro still needs to define how the wood fuel would be priced for
biomass projects, Myers said. Power plants need a firm wood supply for 20
years to get a project financed, he said, adding "this is one of the things on
the policy front that needs to be clarified."