WPAC Conference Wood Pellet Association of Canada conference paid tribute to industry origins By Maria Church he Wood Pellet Association of Cana-da’s annual conference began with an unusually sentimental note this year: a tribute to the “godfather of wood pellets,” John Swaan. This year marks a quarter century since Swaan orchestrated the world’s first bulk shipment of wood pellets from his B.C. pellet mill to a customer overseas. In open-ing remarks to the conference, association past-president and senior Drax executive Vaughan Bassett shared a summary of Swaan’s industry origin story, first told by FutureMetrics’ Hannah Campbell. The story was followed by a tribute vid-eo in which WPAC executive director Gor-don Murray, along with a handful of other partners and friends, shared their thoughts on John’s pioneering role in the pellet in-dustry. An emotional Swaan took to the po-dium to express his thanks. “It’s an honour to be singled out,” he told the conference crowd. “It took a vil-lage… I’m very proud to be involved in helping seed some milestones that have come along.” Twenty-five years later and the pellet in -dustry is thriving coast to coast in Canada, providing a market for low value sawmill and forestry residuals. MARKETS AND PRICES Past and future T FutureMetrics’ president William Strauss. FutureMetrics’ president William Strauss and Arugs Media’s Erisa Senerdem took to the stage to share the global outlook for pellet markets and prices. A “mystifying” low domestic demand for bioenergy means Canada still exports more than 90 per cent of the pellets it produces, Strauss said. In 2022, exports reached 3.5 million tonnes, representing a steady growth of the industry. For the first time, Canada’s exports to Japan surpassed its exports to the U.K., with a notable dip in U.K. imports from Canada. “We expect imports in Japan to contin-ue to grow, potentially doubling in the next four to five years,” Strauss said. U.S. exports grew significantly last year, up to nine million tonnes, he said. Much of that is going to the U.K., but market share is gaining in Japan as well. Senerdem, editor of biomass markets for Argus, shared global spot prices trends and demand predictions, noting this year European price volatility eased, reducing wood pellets price advantage over alter-native heating fuels. She said they expect to see similar competition with gas and oil over the winter, but pellets may see another advantage by next summer. DRAX MEETING DEMAND “We expect imports in Japan to continue to grow, potentially doubling in the next four to five years.” -William Strauss, FutureMetrics 16 Canadian BIOMASS Andrea Johnston, senior vice-president, North America Development for Drax Group, explained that uncertainty in B.C. continues to impact the level of sawmill investment in the province. “We suspect capital allocation will be limited while we deal with the level of uncertainty,” she said. With fewer operating mills, Drax’s B.C. plants will see more uncertainty in terms of residual streams. “We need both federal and provincial government support through tax incentives FALL 2023
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