The forest industry says there’s a less expensive option for government to consider when converting buildings from oil heat.

Bill Dawson, executive director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Forest Industry Association, says sawmills in this province have loads of biofuel but no market for it. Biofuel is residue produced at sawmills.

The provincial and federal governments are spending over $10-million to take out an oil-fired boiler and replace it with electric cables to heat the St. John’s campus. Government plans to continue the conversion with other public buildings.

Dawson says their industry was talking about transitioning 15 years ago, even before Muskrat Falls came along. He says their biofuel is about 30 percent less expensive than electricity and is low carbon.

He says they can do the university and schools and create a new market within their sector by moving over to biomass.