Indigenous BIOMASS investments CANADIAN Volume 22 No. 1 Editor -Ellen Cools (416) 510-6766 [email protected] As Canada looks to scale-up the use of renewable fuels, Indigenous communities lead the way ince joining Canadian Biomass in 2018, I’ve seen a big uptick in invest-ments in biofuel, biogas and bioener-gy projects, particularly in the past year. A large percentage of these new investments have been in Indigenous communities where renewable energy sources, such as wood waste, are readily available to replace costly traditional fossil fuels. For example, in Decem-ber 2021, BioNorth Energy, a joint-venture partnership between the Arrow Group of Companies, the Nak’azd-li Whut’en First Nation, and Nexus Management Group, acquired a shuttered biomass power generation facility in Fort St. James, B.C. The facility came back online in January, providing green energy and jobs to locals. Read more about the biopower project on page 18. Another example of Indigenous-led biomass investments is the Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC)’s new Bioenergy Centre. The MLTC consists of nine First Nations in Meadow Lake, Sask. They saw an opportunity to use wood waste from their mill which was being burned in bee-hive burners. As stewards of the land, In-digenous communities and organizations have an inherent understanding of how important it is to use as much of every tree as possible, said Tina Rasmussen, corpo-rate development and administration offi-cer with MLTC Industrial Investments. Now, the Bioenergy Centre will power 5,000 homes in the community, as well as provide heat and power for their saw-mill’s new continuous kiln. The project is the first of its kind in Saskatchewan, and sets a strong precedent for investing in In-digenous-led bioeconomy ventures. In my opinion, the multitude of benefits for local Managing Editor -Maria Church (226) 931-1396 [email protected] Contributors -Gordon Murray, William Strauss, Jamie Stephen Group Publisher -Todd Humber 416-510-5248 [email protected] Account Coordinator -Kristine Deokaran (416) 510-6774 [email protected] National Sales Manager -Rebecca Lewis Ph: (519) 429-5196 [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 -Curtis Martin Circulation Manager – Serina Dingeldein [email protected] Ph: (416) 510-5124 COO Scott Jamieson Canadian Biomass is published four times a year: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Published and printed by Annex Business Media. Publication Mail Agreement # 40065710 Printed in Canada ISSN 2290-3097 Subscription Rates: Canada -1 Yr $57.00; 2 Yr $102.00 Single Copy -$9.00 (Canadian prices do not include applicable taxes) USA – 1 Yr $121.50 CDN; Foreign – 1 Yr $138.00 CDN CIRCULATION [email protected] Tel: (416) 510-5124 Fax: (416) 510-6875 or (416) 442-2191 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1 Annex Privacy Officer [email protected] Tel: 800-668-2374 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 ©2022 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. S communities, both economically and en-vironmentally, speak for themselves. It is a major step forward for Saskatchewan and Canada as the world begins more earnestly to transition to renewable fuel sources. As Rasmussen told me, the MLTC sees this as just the beginning. Read more about the project on page 10. While much of the fo-cus has been on bioenergy power, the backbone of the bioeconomy – the wood pel-let industry – has also seen a lot of growth. That growth is predicted to continue as demand for renewable fu-els takes off, particularly in Asia and Europe. William Strauss, CEO of FutureMet-rics, shares in our annual pellet markets outlook ar-ticle on page 13 that “the industrial wood pellet markets have been growing at an an-nualized rate of about 1.66 million metric tonnes per year from 2010 through 2021.” That’s not a small number by any means. In fact, it reinforces the case for investing in the wood pellet industry, something which international companies such as Drax have realized. Drax came onto the Canadian scene in a big way last year when it acquired Pinnacle Renewable Energy, and recently announced plans to double its pellet pro-duction capacity by 2030. Matt White, the company’s executive vice-president, shares some insights about their plans on page 16. As we move into 2022, I look forward to seeing the Canadian bioeconomy continue to develop, with Indigenous communities leading the charge. • www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca 4 Canadian BIOMASS WINTER 2022
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