Show Report IBCE 2016 comes to Prince George Prince George Civic Centre filled with bio-energy professionals from around the world to take in a host of sessions at the seventh International Bioenergy Conference and Exhibition in Prince George, B.C., this past June. Prince George Mayor Lyn Hall wel-comed the 260 delegates in attendance to the conference. Hall discussed the impor-tance of the forestry sector, including the bioenergy sector, to the city’s culture and its community. “For us in Prince George, there’s no question that the forest industry is the foundation of our community,” he told the crowd. “We have upward of 3,000 people employed in those industries.” OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES The By Andrew Snook “Where do you see opportunities and risks for the bioenergy sector in the next de-cade?” That was the question posed to the participants of an executive panel session during IBCE 2016. Gordon Murray, executive director of the Wood Pellet Association of Canada, stated that the wood pellet sector remains the most successful and vibrant sector in the bioenergy industry. However, the sec-tor’s historical biggest challenge still re-mains an issue that needs to be addressed. “Domestically here in B.C., fibre supply does continue to be our No. 1 issue,” he told the crowd. Although the B.C. government has put together a 13-point fibre action plan, Mur-ray said it has yet to assist bioenergy pro-ducers in securing additional fibre. “We do acknowledge that they’ve had good intentions and put a lot of effort for-ward, but the implementation of this has been frustrating and it has not resulted in any more fibre for us,” he said. “We’d like to see a ban on all slash burning with an Prince George announced the expansion of its district energy system to include the heating of two more provincial buildings – the province’s courthouse and the Plaza 400 building. exception where the producers can prove that there is no viable option for the re-siduals.” As for new opportunities for the wood pellet sector, Murray discussed overseas growth markets such as Japan, which has abandoned nuclear power and has been building biomass-fuelled power plants. Doug Hooper, director of policy and regulation at Advanced Biofuels Canada, discussed the opportunities for the bioen-ergy sector related to carbon pricing. “There’s a large stimulus coming from the carbon funds back into our sectors,” he said. Hooper added that there would be a long-term reliance on energy dense liquid fuels, including lower carbon renewable biofuels; however, he added that the bio-energy sector needs to improve telling its story on how the sector offers a reliable and versatile source of energy. “Bioenergy has really got a strong story to tell and I think one of the challenges is how do we tell our story better,” he said. Carrie Annand, executive vice-pres-ident of external affairs for the Biomass Power Association discussed biomass pol-icy in the U.S. She said that one challenge in the U.S. bioenergy sector is getting the Canadian BIOMASS 21
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