Canadian Biomass • Winter 2020 • Editorial

With the start of a new year and a new decade – especially one that brings with it a number of puns about ‘2020 vision’ – it’s only natural that everyone is looking ahead and predict- ing how things will unfold in the coming years. In our industry, the new decade will likely see rapid expansion and new devel- opments as Canada’s bio- economy picks up speed.

In fact, a new milestone was reached less than one month into the new de- cade. On Jan. 16, Pinnacle Renewable Energy signed a 15-year charter agree- ment with NYK Bulk and Projects Carriers for a new Japanese-built ship that will transport up to 33,000 tonnes of pellets exclusively between Canada and Japan six times per year. This is a first for a Canadian pellet producer, and is “certainly different to how freight has been arranged in the past by any wood pellet company anywhere,” said Vaughan Bassett, Pinnacle’s senior vice-president of sales and logistics, on page 6.

In his global market outlook for 2020, William Strauss, president of FutureMet- rics, notes that the future of pellet prices will be heavily influenced by long-term contracts such as the one established be- tween Pinnacle and the Japanese govern- ment. By the end of the decade, Future- Metrics expects the price for pellets to be between approximately $215 to $235 per tonne. Read more on page 24.

This is an encouraging sign as the in- dustry looks ahead. But access to fibre in B.C. remains difficult, as the province’s for- estry sector has experienced a downturn in the past year, resulting in the permanent closure of at least nine sawmills, as well as downtime at more than 20 other mills.

However, there is a silver lining: as a result of the sawmill closures, more and more B.C. loggers are turning to chipping and grinding wood waste to supplement their operations. Tsi Del Del Enterpris- es Ltd., a joint venture between Tsideldel First Nation and Tolko Industries, is just one example. “We think that is the future for all of us: using all of the fibre in the stands, not just the saw logs but also the pulp logs and the biomass,” says Phil Theriault, general manager of Tsi Del Del Enterprises, on page 10.

Meanwhile, Canada’s East coast pellet producers are enjoying steadily grow- ing business. Canadian Bio- mass editor Maria Church got an inside look at some of New Brunswick’s pellet plants, includ- ing the newly commissioned Grand River Pellets. Read more on page 20.

As we move into a new decade, diver- sifying operations and producing bioprod- ucts from wood residues will be critical. On page 14, FPInnovations’ Jean Hamel explains how the organization’s ther- mo-mechanical-pulp (TMP)-bio technol- ogy at Resolute’s Thunder Bay, Ont., pulp and paper mill, could open up new mar- kets for the forest products sector.

With all the new projects and develop- ments already underway, I’m excited to see where the industry goes this year, and be- yond into the 2020s.