Direction needed Government has a necessary role in the bioeconomy he U.S. Department of Energy has a mission when it comes to biomass: to foster, by 2040, the production of “at least one billion dry tons of bio-mass resources on an annual basis without adversely affecting the environment.” It’s a weighty goal (pardon the pun). And in July, the department released its third instal-ment of the Billion-Ton Report, which, since the first version was released in 2005, has been studying the potential supply of bio-mass in the United States. Tied into the report, earlier this year the U.S. government unveiled its Billion Ton Bioeconomy Vision. The document is a single, co-ordinated multidepartment vision for developing a plan to use bio-mass to increase economic activity in the country. As with most government docu-ments, it’s wordy and full of jargon, but it’s still a strategy. Here in Canada, clean energy will soon be in the spotlight with the fed-eral government expected to unveil its national climate plan by the end of the year. While biomass will undoubtedly be mentioned in the plan, there is no indi-cation that the plan will include or be followed by a federal vision for the bio-economy. Instead, strategies are forming province by province (territory by terri-tory). Yukon is the latest to map out its bioeconomy plan, unveiling its biomass energy strategy in February. In Northern Ontario, the Ontario Union of Indians and the Biomass Innovation Centre are forging ahead with their own Northern Ontario Biomass Strategy. BioEnergy 2.0 – a not-for-profit in BIOMASS CANADIAN Volume 16 No. 5 Editor -Andrew Snook (905) 713-4301 [email protected] Editor -Maria Church (416) 510-5143 [email protected] Contributors -Gordon Murray, Cindy Macdonald, John Swaan, Taylor Fredericks Editorial Director/Group Publisher -Scott Jamieson (519) 429-3966 ext 244 [email protected] Market Production Manager Josée Crevier Ph: (514) 425-0025 Fax: (514) 425-0068 [email protected] National Sales Manager Ross Anderson Ph: (519) 429-5188 Fax: (519) 429-3094 [email protected] Quebec Sales Josée Crevier Ph: (514) 425-0025 Fax: (514) 425-0068 [email protected] Western Sales Manager Tim Shaddick [email protected] Ph: (604) 264-1158 Fax: (604) 264-1367 Media Designer -Alison Keba Circulation Manager Carol Nixon – [email protected] 450-458-0461 Canadian Biomass is published six times a year: February, April, June, August, October, and December. Published and printed by Annex Business Media. Publication Mail Agreement # 40065710 Printed in Canada ISSN 2290-3097 Subscription Rates: Canada -1 Yr $49.50; 2 Yr $87.50; 3 Yr $118.50 Single Copy -$9.00 (Canadian prices do not include applicable taxes) USA – 1 Yr $60 US; Foreign – 1 Yr $77 US CIRCULATION Tel: (416) 442-5600 ext 3552 Fax: (416) 510-5170 [email protected] 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Occasionally, Canadian Biomass magazine will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above. No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’ s written permission ©2016 Annex Business Media, All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’ s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca T B.C. dedicated to the growth of bioenergy industries – pointed out Canada’s lack of federal direction for the biomass industry in its May 10, 2016 submission: BioEnergy Vision for Canada . Referring to the U.S. Billion Ton Bioeconomy Vision, the organization says it would like to see Canada initiate a Mega Tons Biomass Vision. This vision would be overseen by the Prime Minister, and would develop a strategy encompassing agricul-ture, municipal and for-estry biomass streams, and all federal ministries and agencies. The vision would build on existing science and technology developments in the country and abroad, make the most of limited federal funds for biomass initiatives and cultivate collabo-ration with post secondary institutions, among many other things (find the full submission at www.bioenergy2-0.org). It seems like a good plan. And given the worrisome effect of low oil prices on the bioenergy industry, specifically pel-lets, a plan is needed. In November, the City of Ottawa will host the first Scaling Up Conference – a meeting of industry, political and envi-ronmental stakeholders to discuss the bioeconomy in Canada. One of the goals of the conference is to understand the role of government. Perhaps national conferences such as this one are one way that industry can give government the nudge it needs to formally plan for Canada’s bioeconomy. 4 Canadian BIOMASS FEBRUARY 2016
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