Canadian Biomass • Winter 2019 • Editorial

Last year was a big one, both for the biomass industry and for us as a magazine.

The year was brimming with new project announcements, technology investments, and plant openings. Pinnacle commissioned two new pellet plants and Skeena BioEnergy’s pellet plant in Terrace, B.C. is full steam ahead, to name a few.

From a policy perspective, the Canadian government continued to rally behind clean technology, moving ahead with funding initiatives and its national Clean Fuel Standard. In January, Canada became the 160th member of the International Renewable Energy Agency. Membership will mean more international visibility of our cleantech sector.

As for the magazine, in the fall we celebrated our 10th anniversary, reflecting on years past and looking forward to the next 10 years ahead. Reflection often inspires change, and I can report that year 11 is already bringing a number of changes for us.

For one, we have transitioned to a quarterly publication. As you may have already noted on our cover, Canadian Biomass is now publishing as Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall issues. Fewer pages is never something an editor wants to hear, but we’re changing with the times as more and more of our audience consumes our content online, as well as in the magazine.

In this issue, our new associate editor, Ellen Cools, takes readers inside Pinnacle Renewable Energy’s newest pellet plant in Smithers, B.C., where safety is king. Read more on page 10. We also share the latest from a Canadian company developing bioplastics from wood on page 16.

A second major change is taking place off the pages of the magazine or our website. We’re introducing a first-of-its-kind workshop: OptiPellet.

Hosted by Canadian Biomass, with support from our friends at the Wood Pellet Association of Canada, OptiPellet is focused on current and future stateof-the-art pellet production technology. Speakers will present on challenges and opportunities for automation and optimization in wood pellet plants.

OptiPellet is modelled after our OptiSaw forum for lumber producers put on by our sister publication Canadian Forest Industries. The goal is a time-effective learning and networking opportunity for the pellet industry. To ensure the right people attend, registration is limited to pellet plant management and owners, process engineers, continual improvement managers, optimization staff, researchers and design consultants.

OptiPellet takes place in Richmond, B.C., on June 12, (co-located with OptiSaw on June 13). It is conveniently timed the day after the Wood Products Safety Summit, put on by WPAC in partnership with WorkSafeBC and us as the media sponsor, in Prince George.

Have ideas about what technology you want to see at OptiPellet? Email me at [email protected].