Edmundston, NB (News release) - Twin Rivers Paper Company's Edmundston pulp mill recently completed a biomass cogeneration unit maintenance shutdown; a project which began in the middle of April. In planning for more than a year, the project was designed to maintain and refurbish the co-generation unit to ensure green power continues to flow to the grid uninterrupted.

"The last 14 months have been a challenge for everyone with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the last number of months have been a roller-coaster for the Edmundston region as case counts have risen and fallen back down again," says Brian McAlary, Vice-President Development, Technical & Export Sales. "We tried to ensure we maximized in-province labor on the project, which had about 150 contractors involved. In the end, about 25 essential out-of-province contractors joined the team, and 125 in-province contractors worked on the project. They followed all protocols during the multi-week project, and there were no positive test results. All have now left the region to return home."

While the contractors were in the region working on the project, they:

Were individually approved via the WSNB approval and COVID testing protocol;
Remained fully compliant with all protocols and procedures to restrict interactions within less than 2 meters, including separate on-site facilities as required;
Underwent active screening upon entry to the worksite;
Received contactless delivery of food to the accommodation they were resident in; and,
Segregated from all other (in-province) contractors, and Twin Rivers employees.

WSNB was onsite and conducted multiple audits during the project; the company complied with all recommendations during these audits.

"Maintenance projects like this are a key part of the requirement to safely operate this system, which delivers up to 45 megawatts of clean energy to NB Power," said McAlary. "We're happy that power is flowing again, and we're back to the normal operation of our business, even in these extraordinary times. We thank the community for their cooperation and support, and most of all their trust in our primary objective - to keep everyone safe."