SCHUTTE-BUFFALO CHANGES OWNERSHIP Effective December 29, 2014, ownership of industrial manufacturing company, Schutte-Buffalo Hammermill, LLC has been acquired by Mr. Martin Berardi. Incoming chief executive officer Martin Berardi is a recent retiree from Moog, Inc. where in the course of 34 years he served in a variety of roles ranging from sales, operations and general management to senior corporate leadership. Berardi’s long-term experience in a successful manufacturing company, both domestic and international, positions Schutte-Buffalo Hammermill for continued growth potential and additional avenues to explore. Ownership of Schutte-Buffalo Hammermill has transferred from Thomas Warne and James Guarino who purchased the company in 2004 following a merger with Buffalo Hammermill Corporation. During their tenure Warne and Guarino brought about significant growth by maintaining a leadership role in key industries such as wood waste reduction, feed and grain processing, and mining, while broadening their reach to emerging markets including biomass processing and alternative fuels, as well as e-scrap, asphalt, and carpet recycling. “Both Jim and I are excited to be a part of this new phase of Schutte-Buffalo Hammermill. We look forward to being on Marty’s team as we continue to provide the highest quality equipment to our customers”, says Tom Warne, president. DIACARBON RECEIVES GOVERNMENT FUNDING Vancouver’s Diacarbon Energy Inc. (Diacarbon) received $2 million from Export Development Canada (EDC). This financing will allow Diacarbon to complete the development of a thermal biomass refinery in the interior of British Columbia. Once completed, this plant will convert wood waste into environmentally friendly, low carbon bio-fuels ready for distribution. Diacarbon is a startup cleantech company producing wood pellets and developing torrefied biocoal, both of which can be used as a replacement for fossil coal. Since 2009, Diacarbon has focused its efforts on perfecting its biocoal product made from natural wood waste and now aims to demonstrate commercial scale production and distribution. “EDC’s investment provided the working capital that allowed us to grow our business and expand our technological base,” said Jerry Ericsson, President and CEO of Diacarbon. “The export markets are very interested in both our pellets and biocoal over the near and long term.” “Cleantech is one of Canada’s highest growth sectors and more than half of the industry’s revenues come from exports,” said Carl Burlock, senior vice-president of financing and investments at EDC. “Diacarbon is an example of great innovation in clean energy technology and EDC is pleased to help close gaps in their financing,” added Burlock. DUTCH SUSTAINABILITY QUESTIONS North American pellet producers are on edge, waiting for the Netherlands to define the terms that will determine whether wood pellets have been sustainably harvested. Rather than reach out to the public at large for consultations and in an effort to avoid making an unpopular decision, the government asked the NGOs (such as Greenpeace and other environmental groups) to sit down and negotiate a sustainability system with the power companies. The utilities involved were unable to reach an agreement with the environmental groups and walked away from the process, not wanting to be put in a position where they may be targeted by the NGOs in a smear campaign. The NGOs have specified that any biomass used in the Netherlands’ utilities will have to be FSC-certified. The problem for Canadian producers is that most forests in Canada have undergone CSA or SFI certification, which is PEFC-endorsed rather than FSC-certified, and would not qualify under these sustainability terms. “From a Canadian perspective, we’ve sent in two protest letters to the WTO and then we’re also following up with the European Commission. But until the Dutch are emphatic about what they’re going to do, it’s hard to put in a complaint to the commission,” executive director of WPAC Gordon Murray explains. CONSTRUCTION BEGINS IN LAVINGTON Construction of the Pinnacle/ Tolko pellet plant at Tolko’s Lavington mill is underway. The decision to move forward with construction follows a significant consultation and review process, and permit approval from the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and the District of Coldstream. The plant will employ technology, which significantly advances the manner in which pellets are produced in Canada. Well-known in Europe, the drying technology has a low operating temperature which translates into both a lower emission concentration and minimized fire risk. This in combination with the election to proceed with the implementation of bag house filtration on both the pellet plant and Tolko fibre delivery systems will improve the overall air quality in the Lavington area. Tolko’s CEO Brad Thorlakson said: “We want to acknowledge everyone for their work throughout this process. Thanks to the combined efforts of the MoE, the community and our planning team, we’re moving forward with an exciting project that will be good for the community and the environment.” Leroy Reitsma, president and COO of Pinnacle Renewable Energy, said: “We’re looking forward to becoming a valued member of the local community. As we begin the next phase of this project, we look forward to hiring local service providers and keeping the local community informed about the construction progress.” At Tolko’s existing Lavington mill, Troy Connolly, General manager, B.C. Lumber, is getting ready for construction and is positive about the impact the pellet plant will have on the Lavington operation. “Co-locating the plant here at Lavington will bring a number of benefits. It will allow us to deal with the excess of sawdust and shavings that has been collecting, on site and at other locations in the Valley, since Domtar Kamloops reduced its operations in 2013. It will also help us to create more efficient rail and trucking logistics and improve the level of both emissions and fugitive dust control. This is a good project for the community and the mill, and one that supports the long-term viability of the Lavington sawmill.” The pellet plant is expected to be operational by September of this year. SECOND GEN BIOFUEL MARKET GROWS A new report claims that the global second generation biofuels market will reach $23.9 billion by 2020. According to a new report by Allied Market Research titled, “Global Second Generation Biofuels - Size, Industry Analysis, Trends, Opportunities, Growth and Forecast, 2013 - 2020”, the global second generation biofuels (Advanced Biofuels) market would reach $23.9 billion by 2020, registering a CAGR of 49. 4% during 2014 - 2020. Currently, Biodiesel garners the largest market share; however, the latest and the most commercially viable Cellulosic ethanol would surpass Biodiesel and eventually lead the market by 2020. North America generated largest revenue, as it has over 50% of the globally installed capacity base. Second generation biofuel production is more energy efficient than the conventional fossil fuels. Such biofuels minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by over 90%; thus, are more environment- friendly. POINT TUPPER BOILER OFF TARGET Only half of Nova Scotia Power’s Point Tupper owned by Nova Scotia Power biomass boiler’s needs are being provided by waste wood. The other 335,000 green tonnes come from forests cleared to feed the boiler, Allan Eddy, associate deputy minister at the Natural Resources Department told The Chronicle Herald. “The shakeup of the province’s forest industry over the last five years has resulted in a severe decline in the province’s harvesting capacity. The NewPage Port Hawkesbury bankruptcy and the closure of Liverpool’s Bowater Mersey mill resulted in a lot of harvesting contractors jumping ship from the forest industry,” the paper reports. SFI LAUNCHES NEW RULES The launch of the new Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) 2015-2019 Standards and Rules marks an important advancement to support better decision making all along the supply chain and to promote sustainable forest management. A major change to the structure of the SFI 2015-2019 Standards and Rules is the establishment of three stand-alone standards: The SFI 2015-2019 Forest Management Standard promotes sustainable forestry practices based on 13 Principles, 15 Objectives, 37 Performance Measures and 101 Indicators. These requirements include measures to protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk and forests with exceptional conservation value. The SFI 2015-2019 Fibre Sourcing Standard promotes responsible forestry practices based on 14 Principles, 13 Objectives, 21 Performance Measures and 55 Indicators that address the 90 percent of the world’s forests that are not certified. These fibre sourcing requirements include measures to broaden the conservation of biodiversity, use forestry best management practices to protect water quality, provide outreach to landowners and utilize the services of forest management and harvesting professionals. Because it directs how SFI Program Participants procure fibre from non-certified land, this standard encourages the use of responsible forestry practices. The SFI 2015-2019 Chain of Custody Standard tracks the percentage of fibre from certified forests, certified sourcing and recycled content through production and manufacturing to the end product. Organizations can use physical separation, average percentage or volume credit methods to track and communicate their chain of custody claims. The SFI Chain of Custody standard is applied globally. “The revised SFI standards will continue to serve as a proof point for responsible forestry in North America,” said Lawrence Selzer, Chair of the SFI Board of Directors and President and CEO of The Conservation Fund. “These standards are shaped by the people and communities who put them into practice every day.” FROM THE EDITORS Statistics published in the November/December issue of Canadian Biomass were inaccurate. It was stated that five large forestry companies control 75 per cent of provincial forests, however, that number is closer to 36 per cent. We apologize for the error.