It sounds almost too good to be true: The notion that somehow
industrial wood waste could be converted into a source of reliable,
environmentally friendly energy with the ability to power an entire town.

But it's a new reality in West Lorne, Ontario, where a century-old
flooring company has joined with an energy leader in an environmentally friendly
partnership.

Erie Flooring and Wood Products has been producing truckloads of wood
scraps and sawdust, 70 tons a day, for decades, with little choice but to burn
or transport the waste. Neither option has been good for the environment.

Now, thanks to Canadian technology and a partnership with Vancouver's
DynaMotive, the waste is ground into fine sawdust, vaporized, and
converted to "bio oil." The company uses the oil to power a new turbine generator
that produces 2,500 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power 1,400 homes.

"Instead of transporting this wood waste or burning them and making
pollution, we produce clean energy," explained Gholam Yavari, of
DynaMotive. "And it's clean, environmentally friendly and pollution-free and
greenhouse-gas neutral."

DynaMotive has built a $20 million plant in West Lorne. It's the first
of its kind in the world, but will be the first of many if DynaMotive's
plan takes effect. The company is hoping to expand as the technology catches
on.

"We're looking to build a number of plants across Canada and supply
industry, supply houses, supply district heating systems," explained
Andrew Kingston, company president.

For now, DynaMotive will supply energy to run Erie Flooring, and
generate electricity to be sold back into the grid that powers West Lorne.

Erie Flooring doesn't have a spotless record when it comes to the
environment, but this new partnership provides an opportunity to make
up for some of the mistakes of the past, explained the company's Alan
Vandenbrick.

"It wasn't done on purpose, it was done through ignorance," said
Vandenbrick, of pollution created in the past. "We didn't know. But
this gives us the chance to put a mark on the right side of the paper toward
the environment."