primarily for export; and 40% as bagged pellets primarily for domestic markets. La Crete is the biggest pellet supplier to the Northwest Territories, with nearly 25,000 tonnes to support northern com-munities. They’ve been key to the transi -tion to biomass in the NWT. Today, bio-mass is one of the main sources of primary energy in public buildings in Yellowknife. In fact, 33% of territorial government buildings in the city are heated with wood pellets, playing a significant role in reduc -ing greenhouse gas emissions and saving money for taxpayers. ENHANCING VALUE THROUGH COLLABORATION AND INNOVATION Alberta’s forests are an important eco-nomic generator across the province, and especially in the northern part of the prov-ince. I was honoured to be invited to speak at the Peace Region Economic Develop-ment Alliance’s (PREDA) conference on June 27. Key topics included the manage-ment and reclamation of the boreal forest, the legislative framework governing tim -ber rights in Alberta, career opportunities within the forestry industry and overview of the wood pellet industry across Canada with a focus on Alberta. The event was sponsored by the Mu-nicipal Project Fund – Regional Partner-ship, with contributions from Northern Sunrise County and Lac Cardinal Eco-nomic Development. It aimed to bring to-cation and innovation in the forest sector. These include supporting forestry jobs by securing access to wood fibre, increasing fibre supply over time, maintaining the forest land base by investing in sustain-able forest management, and ensuring an open and competitive process for compa-nies to bid and purchase fibre. An important part of Alberta’s wood products sector is its exports to Asia with easily accessible rail lines into B.C. and through to ports in both Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert. A key part of my presentation was providing an over-view of Canada’s wood pellet sector and reinforcing the importance of the pellet sector. Alberta wood pellets make up over one-third of all wood exports to Asia. Forty per cent of La Crete’s production is domestic. Photo: WPAC THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS gether stakeholders from various sectors, including local governments, businesses, and community organizations, to discuss strategies for economic development and sustainability in the forestry sector. Forest resources form the basis of the economy for many of Alberta’s rural and Indigenous communities and play an im-portant role in the diversification of the provincial economy. An estimated $6.5 billion has been invested in forest product manufacturing operations in the past de-cade. The government is focussed on four key priorities to enable growth, diversifi -From our visit to Alberta, it’s clear that Alberta has the right ingredients for long-term success which bodes well for the long-term prospects for the pellet sector. Government policies committed to sus-tainable forestry, community stability, and new innovations like Bioenergy Car -bon Capture and Sequestration (BECCS), and a growing appreciation of the role of the pellet sector on all of those fronts. It was also clear to us that our Alberta mem-bers are committed to answering the call when it comes to tackling climate change and providing not just the world, but also Canadians, with clean renewable energy. • FIKE DFI™ An Explosion Isolation Flap Valve You Can Trust / Flexible Installation / Wide Application Range / Real-World Testing Fike.com / Fike Canada Inc. 4400 Mainway, Burlington, Ontario, L7L 5Y5, Canada Toll free: 800-363-8116 / Main: 905-681-3100 Canadian BIOMASS CB_Fike_Summer23_CSA.indd 1 2023-07-07 12:07 PM 21
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