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Meridien Maritime is based in Matane, in Québec’s Bas-Saint-Laurent region. The company specializes in inspecting, repairing and building ships.

“We have two main buildings that are connected. The first is 110 feet by 60 feet and 45 feet high. The second is 80 feet by 60 feet and also 45 feet high. Winds of 100 km/h aren’t uncommon here, next to the ocean,” explains Alain Marquis, foreman at Meridien Maritime. “Our propane heating system wasn’t powerful enough to heat the plant, and we had to add fuel oil heaters. This winter, we signed a contract for a stainless-steel build, so we had to maintain a temperature of 24 °C for the welding. With the Sequoia energy generator, now we can keep the temperature in the plant constant enough to do the work.”

Sequoia’s Blue Sky energy generator is a hot-water heating unit that runs on biomass fuel (wood). The heat produced is distributed throughout the buildings using a radiant floor system and Dragon Vert fan coils. “The powerful blowers on the Dragon Vert units maintain a constant air exchange in the plant. I could even raise the temperature to 30 °C if I wanted to,” adds Alain Marquis.

The Blue Sky energy generator meets the highest safety standards and is certified for indoor installations. At Meridien Maritime, the unit itself and the fuel are housed in a biochamber. This new type of boiler station maintains a low level of moisture in the biomass. “We source our biomass from a local supplier—wood that isn’t fit for sale. We also use a lot of construction lumber in our work. We manufacture molds, dies and temporary racks. In the past, we had to pay to get rid of the wood. But now, with our Blue Sky unit, we recycle this waste and burn it as fuel,” adds Mr. Marquis.

The Blue Sky energy generator is designed to burn logs up to 4 feet long. Because of the deep combustion chamber, Alain Marquis was expecting to use a high volume of biomass. But the unit turned out to be much more economical than he anticipated.

“Our propane heating system was costing us about $60,000 a year, and it was still cold inside the plant. With Sequoia, we’re comfortable and our heating costs are down to $10,000 to $15,000 a year. This amount obviously includes all our costs related to sourcing, transporting and handling the wood,” confirms Mr. Marquis.
With technical support from Sequoia, the foreman and his team installed the entire biomass heating system themselves.

“The people at Sequoia are always available to answer questions. They’re just a phone call away. Their instructions are easy to follow and their explanations are clear,” concludes Mr. Marquis.