Canadian Biomass • Spring 2021 • WPAC

Already, 2021 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Canada’s wood pellet sector, with world markets and domestic opportunities coalescing with global green energy policy to drive strong demand and significant growth forecasts for wood-based bioenergy.

With the tremendous growth seen within our sector over the past five years – with production increasing from 1.9 million tonnes in 2015 to 3.2 million tonnes in 2020 – Canada has become a major player in the global biomass energy trade.

With that expansion has come a higher profile, and higher global stakes in the sustainability credentials of our members. WPAC recognizes the need to demonstrate the strong environmental performance of Canada’s wood pellet sector – that we are committed to directing 100 per cent of harvested trees to their highest and best use, not contributing to deforestation, and supporting a low carbon economy by transforming fibre that was once wasted into responsible, renewable energy.

We are focused on sharing robust, scientific data and research related to the sustainability and climate benefits of wood pellets, and supporting our customers with rigorous, factual information. Our Asian Wood Pellet Conference in February provided an excellent opportunity to do just that – with nearly 300 scientists, energy producers, government regulators and forest managers from across Asia and North America joining the one day event. For those unable to join the conference, the presentations – ranging from market forecast to climate policy and greenhouse gas emissions comparisons – are available at canadianbiomassmagazine. ca/virtual-events/ wpac-asian-wood-pellet-conference.

Looking ahead, with access to global markets on the basis of strong environmental credentials, Canada is well positioned to grow our share of the global demand for pellets. We continue to advocate for policies that recognize the benefits of wood bioenergy, at home and in key export markets. Frustratingly, many of the headwinds we are facing are home-grown, and we have more challenges than we should gaining the Canadian government’s support of our sector, which offers the win-win opportunity to meet our national climate change goals by harnessing the power of domestic green energy.

The Clean Fuel Standard, a regulation under development by Environment and Climate Change Canada, currently does not recognize wood pellets under provisions for end-use fuel switching, despite the fact that doing so offers a cost-effective and powerful path to de-carbonizing home heating in some of the most energy- poor regions of the country. There is no scientific justification for this omission – rather, we are told that pellets are being excluded as they are too cost-effective a solution. We are working hard to reverse this unfair and damaging policy approach, and encourage bioenergy advocates to add their voice to the call for more reasonable approaches to the Clean Fuel Standard.

Getting these policies right will lay the groundwork to expand domestic markets for our products, while supporting our local forest sectors by improving utilization and reducing waste. Atlantic Canada presents exciting near-term opportunities to reduce reliance on expensive and polluting heating oil. The Maritime Bioheat Conference will take place on June 2, with the theme “Net Zero by 2030: Growing the Region’s Largest Source of Renewable Energy.” I encourage all of you to register for this free three-hour virtual conference, offered with simultaneous French translation, at canadianbiomassmagazine. ca/virtual-events.

This year is also bringing exciting new safety initiatives to the wood pellet sector, including key work on Critical Control Management. (Editor’s note: you can read more about this initiative in the interview with Kayleigh Rayner Brown on page 20.) This work originated from a realization that, despite strong safety performance, pellet plants remained vulnerable to Major Unwanted Events, such as explosions, fires and fatal accidents. This project has the potential to create transformational change in risk management and mitigation, and we look forward to sharing more updates as the work progresses.

I’d also like to invite readers to visit WPAC’s new and improved website, at www.pellet.org. The new site provides an improved user navigation experience and updated information and resources to support members, customers and stakeholders. I welcome your feedback on the new site, and further improvements that could better serve WPAC’s growing community.

The team at WPAC looks forward to continuing to work with sector partners to realize opportunities for Canada’s wood pellets. Working together, the future for our sector is bright and we are excited to harness these opportunities into strong growth, in markets at home and abroad.

Fahimeh Yazdan Panah has been the director of research and technical development for the Wood Pellet Association of Canada since 2019. Fahimeh was born and raised in Iran. She did her undergrad in Chemical Engineering at Tehran Polytechnic University before immigrating to Canada where she completed her masters and PhD at UBC.

Fahimeh is excited about pellets as the gateway to producing many different types of high value fuels and biomaterials beyond the traditional heat and electricity applications. There is a lot of waste left over from sawmilling or harvesting that needs a home and the best way to use it is to convert it to a homogenous, dense and clean fuel. “In fact, every common thing in your home that is made from plastic could potentially be made from wood and look the same. We know the theory and chemistry of how to do it. It’s just about making those processes economic and scalable. But it starts with pellets,” she says.

To Fahimeh, her role with WPAC isn’t just a job. “I believe in these environmental issues and we are really contributing and making a difference. There is research that we need, there is policy that we need and technologies that we need. We need to change public perceptions and provide education. Each job I do is working one of those angles. I try to cover and contribute to as much as I can and that makes it really interesting for me.”