Articles by Andrew Snook's Profile | Rock to Road Journalist

Airex Energy appoints Frédéric Pinard as chief operating officer

Jun 17, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Airex Energy is pleased to announce the appointment of Frédéric Pinard as chief operating officer. In this role, he joins the executive team to lead the company’s operational strategy and support the industrial scale-up of its biocharcoal and biochar technologies.

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Industry News Markets News Policies AFPA: Building a stronger future for Canadian forestry

Jun 04, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

The Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA) welcomes the critical measures announced today by Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, to provide the stability, competitiveness, and certainty needed to support forestry-dependent communities across the country for the long-haul.

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Partnering forestry with the steel industry

Jun 03, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

June 3, 2026 By Peter Saunders, Pulp & Paper Canada Graeme Scott. Photo: Peter Saunders. Graeme Scott, programme leader at ArcelorMittal, which manufactures more than 100 grades of Dofasco steel in Hamilton, shared insights at the recent Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA) Convention about partnership opportunities between the two industries.

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Industry News News CHAR Tech announces new CFO and incoming board members

Jun 03, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

CHAR Tech has announced that Kevin Melnyk has joined the company as its chief financial officer. Melnyk is an accomplished financial executive with deep expertise in M&A, capital structuring, and renewable energy infrastructure finance. He brings extensive senior leadership experience from Clearlight Energy, Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., and PRIVEQ Capital Funds, and holds CFA and CPA,CA designations alongside a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Manitoba.

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The state of Canada’s biomass sector, Part 2: Managing feedstock supply

Jun 03, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

As part of this year’s celebration of the Canadian Biomass Awards, Canadian Biomass organized a roundtable discussion with the 2026 winners and tackled a wide array of topics affecting the biomass sector.

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CHAR Tech announces new CFO and incoming board members

Jun 01, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

CHAR Tech has announced that Kevin Melnyk has joined the company as its chief financial officer. Melnyk is an accomplished financial executive with deep expertise in M&A, capital structuring, and renewable energy infrastructure finance. He brings extensive senior leadership experience from Clearlight Energy, Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., and PRIVEQ Capital Funds, and holds CFA and CPA,CA designations alongside a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Manitoba.

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FutureMetrics updates wood pellet trade flow Sankey chart

May 22, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

May 22, 2026 By FutureMetrics This interactive Sankey map by FutureMetrics shows global wood pellet trade in 2025. Click on any country in the list on the left of the map to see where that country’s pellet exports went or where their imports came from. The width of the arrows are proportional to the total tonnage exported or imported.

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OFIA: Maximizing fibre utilization

May 22, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

From the square timber era to the rise of pulp and paper, the Ottawa Valley has had more changes in the forest sector than almost any other region. Many of its mills trace their roots to those early days, remaining today as the country’s oldest continuously operating businesses. That legacy of change continues, as the region unlocks its diverse forest resources to advance full fibre utilization and unlock new opportunities in a growing bioeconomy.

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Industry News News Harvesting Forestry Management FESBC announces new knowledge exchange specialist role

May 19, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

The Silviculture Innovation Program (SIP) and the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) have a new partnership focused on funding projects that develop new practices and information to help benefit future practitioners of forestry in B.C. Together, they are hiring a knowledge exchange specialist who will help connect forestry specific knowledge to forest management practice by leading activities and the co-creation of products for various jointly-funded projects.

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Ontario investing $10 million in Georgia-Pacific North Woods

May 12, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Ontario’s Ministry of Forestry and Forest Products will invest $10 million in the Georgia-Pacific North Woods facility in Englehart to support a $191-million upgrade of the oriented strand board (OSB) plant. The investment aims to enhance competitiveness in the forestry sector, according to Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products Kevin Holland. The modernization project will protect 220 forestry jobs and create hundreds of indirect positions.

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Features Industry News Markets News Policies SFI discusses challenging times and new opportunities for forest products sector

May 07, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

A panel discussion about forest products sector challenges on both sides of the border took centre stage during the 2026 Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Annual Conference in Montreal.

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OFIA discusses unlocking opportunities in the forest bioeconomy

May 05, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Maryam Arefmanesh, the new director of energy, innovation and manufacturing at the Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA), addressed the annual convention on April 29, highlighting opportunities in the forest bioeconomy. Arefmanesh, a chemical engineer with experience in forest biomass valorization, aims to advance OFIA’s biomass energy directive and streamline environmental permits.

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Emissions Reduction Alberta commits $50 million to annual Industrial Transformation Challenge

Apr 29, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) is allocating $50 million through its annual Industrial Transformation Challenge to support the development and deployment of innovative technologies that bolster the competitiveness of Alberta’s industrial and natural resources sectors while reducing emissions and improving environmental performance.

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WPAC: Strength through unity

Apr 29, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Canada’s wood pellet sector is recognized around the world for its quality, sustainability and reliability. This position is no accident. It is supported by coordinated industry efforts through the Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC), the sector’s national voice. We are a member‑driven organization and the unified voice of Canada’s world‑leading pellet industry. We represent more than 50 producers and industry participants from coast to coast.

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Industry News Markets News Lumber sales remain low on slow construction activity

Apr 29, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

Lumber demand continued to be broadly supply-driven, with limited availability propping up prices even as many buyers took the week to step back, digest, and reassess. In the week ending April 17, 2026, the price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was US$490 mfbm. This was flat from the previous week, said weekly forest products industry price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter.

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Montreal Wood Convention panel discusses housing starts, mass timber, R&R market, and tariffs

Apr 22, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

The Montreal Wood Convention played host to a thought-provoking industry leaders panel that tackled key topics such as U.S. housing starts, mass timber, the R&R market, and more.

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Lumber prices bump up as spring begins to materialize

Apr 14, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

In the week ending April 3, 2026, the price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was US$490 mfbm. This was up +$5, or +1%, from the previous week when it was $485, said weekly forest products industry price guide newsletter Madison’s Lumber Reporter. That week’s price was up +$18, or +4%, from one month ago when it was $472. Compared to the same week last year, when it was US$545 mfbm, that week’s price was down -$55, or -10%.

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World first: SUBLIME Energie liquefies all biogas directly on the farm

Apr 14, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

SUBLIME Energie has inaugurated in Plélo (Côtes-d’Armor, Brittany, France) its demonstrator “Charlie,” the world’s first system capable of liquefying biogas directly on the farm. For the first time, on-farm anaerobic digestion can produce a renewable fuel without relying on gas grid infrastructure. By densifying and enabling the transport of biogas produced on-site—using a model inspired by the traditional milk collection system—the startup is deploying a decentralized industrial model.

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Industry News News FPAC’s Indigenous Awards of Excellence application/nomination period now open

Apr 14, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

The Forest Products Association of Canada’s (FPAC) 2026 Indigenous Awards of Excellence are now open for nominations and/or applications. Canadian forestry is one of the largest employers of Indigenous peoples and home to over 1,400 Indigenous-owned forestry businesses. Indigenous peoples now directly control 10 per cent of the national wood supply and play a leading role in the sector through joint ventures, contracting, cooperative agreements, and collaborative initiatives across the country.

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Cascades sells Kamouraska and Témiscouata forests to Solifor

Apr 01, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

April 1, 2026 By Peter Saunders, Pulp & Paper Canada Private forest property manager Solifor has acquired Cascades’ 10,500 acres of lands in Kamouraska and Témiscouata, Que., for $20 million. Through a new strategic partnership agreement, the development of these lands in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region will continue, helping to secure a long-term supply for Cascades’ Cabano plant (pictured), which manufactures corrugated cardboard from virgin and recycled fibres for the packaging market.

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Gorman Group acquires $120-million tenure transfer in Okanagan from Weyerhaeuser

Mar 26, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

B.C. Minster of Forests Ravi Parmar has approved a $120-million tenure transfer from Weyerhaeuser to the Gorman Group. The news follows the May 2025 announcement by Weyerhaeuser of the sale of its Princeton, B.C. mill to the Gorman Group, which was finalized this past September.

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Permitting progress update on Tigercat 6040 Carbonizer

Mar 25, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

March 25, 2026 By Matt O’Connor, Carbonizer product specialist, Tigercat Industries Carbonizer product specialist Matt O’Connor provides an update on permitting progress in the U.S. for the 6040 carbonizer Key to simplifying the permitting process for the Tigercat 6040 in the US is recognition by government agencies that the wood debris feedstock is a process ingredient, that the process generates very low emissions, and that the 6040 produces a useful product. Photo: Tigercat Industries.

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Atlantic Canada’s energy future depends on regional collaboration

Mar 25, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

The Atlantica Centre for Energy is supporting the newly released report, An Atlantic Canadian Energy Future, developed for the Atlantic Energy Collective, a pan-Atlantic initiative representing more than 30 organizations across utilities, Indigenous partners, industry, labour, research institutions, and national energy policy organizations.

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CHAR Tech provides commissioning update on Thorold Renewable Energy Facility

Mar 23, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

CHAR Technologies Ltd. (CHAR Tech) has provided a further update on commissioning activities at its Thorold Renewable Energy Facility, following the company’s January 29, 2026, announcement that staged startup had commenced at the site. Installation of the core high temperature pyrolysis (HTP) system continues to advance, with the kiln chamber now fully assembled and burner walls welded in place.

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FPAC: Municipal procurement holds the power to help buy Canadian

Mar 18, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Forestry is more than just an industry; it is the lifeblood of some 300 Canadian communities. The forests that blanket our vast country are not only a source of natural beauty and recreation, but also the foundation for local jobs, economic growth, and efficient development. Every dollar spent on wood procurement is a direct investment in our neighbours, small businesses, and Canadian prosperity.

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Ecostrat and BMI Group launch collaboration for conversion of legacy pulp and paper assets

Mar 17, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Ecostrat Inc. and the BMI Group recently announced a collaboration to leverage BDO Zone ratings to ‘ready-state’ BMI’s legacy pulp and paper assets across Canada for next-generation investment in the bioeconomy. The collaboration will use BDO Zone ratings to advance the development of multi-product biorefinery platforms capable of producing biofuels, renewable chemicals, biogas, engineered wood products, including mass timber, and other advanced manufacturing technologies at BMI properties.

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Industry News New Gear News Weaver Auctions joins the Euro Auctions Canadian network, strengthening Western Canada’s equipment marketplace

Mar 11, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

Weaver Auctions, a respected Western Canadian auction house, has officially joined Euro Auctions, the leading auctioneers in Europe of construction, agricultural and industrial equipment. The acquisition marks a significant step in Euro Auctions expansion across Canada, enhancing services for customers in Alberta, British Columbia and beyond.

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Enhancing the pulp and paper industry through energy efficiency

Mar 11, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

The Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada’s (PAPTAC’s) 2026 PaperWeek virtual conference opened last month with a Biofor/Energy Joint Session on enhancing the industry’s competitiveness through efficiency measures. (Biofor, by way of explanation, is a portion of the conference focusing on “bio-based solutions for the forest products industry” and opportunities across the bioeconomy.) The Feb.

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UBC Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship launches new podcast

Mar 09, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

The UBC Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship has launched “The Root of It” podcast. The podcast offers conversations with researchers, students, practitioners, and community leaders about redefining how to understand and care for forests. Topics include climate solutions, innovative technologies, Indigenous stewardship, and more. Listen to the podcast here.

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Industry News News UBC Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship launches new podcast

Mar 09, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

The UBC Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship has launched “The Root of It” podcast. The podcast offers conversations with researchers, students, practitioners, and community leaders about redefining how to understand and care for forests. Topics include climate solutions, innovative technologies, Indigenous stewardship, and more. Listen to the podcast here.

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Strengthening safety culture: WPAC Safety Committee 2026-2028 Work Plan

Feb 27, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

For over a decade, the Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) Safety Committee has worked to keep our industry safer. The Committee focuses on activities that continue to improve collective safety performance, earn trust from regulators and the public and foster a stronger safety culture among WPAC members. Recognizing that safety is not an annual event, there are always initiatives just starting, underway, and almost complete. The WPAC Safety Committee 2026-2028 Work Plan reflects this value.

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Building a wildfire business case for biomass harvesting

Feb 26, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

Following the 2023 record-breaking year of extreme wildfires across Canada, the topic of how to best manage wildfires came to the forefront for many organizations within Canada’s forest products sector, as well as all levels of government.

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Maintaining grinders and chippers

Feb 22, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

When it comes to maintaining grinders and chippers, it all comes down to adhering to a proper maintenance schedule. “Every day you want to inspect your grinders. You’re going to inspect the hammer tips, the grate liners, the anvil. I think most have rotor wear blocks on both sides of the rotor to keep it centered. You want to make sure they’re not worn. Also, tracks, undercarriage and the discharge belt,” says Chris McMillan, marketing technical writer for Tigercat Industries.

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Next generation of Swaan family joins FutureMetrics

Feb 18, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

FutureMetrics is proud to announce the addition of Darren Swaan to its team of experts. Darren is a pellet manufacturing project management specialist who has over 20 years of experience delivering large-scale industrial wood pellet projects from concept through commissioning.

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CCI BioEnergy selects Arcadis as design-engineer partner under Master Service Agreement

Feb 17, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Arcadis is recently announced its partnership with CCI BioEnergy under a multi-year Master Service Agreement (MSA) to provide engineering and detailed design services.

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Editorial: Belledune project could be a major boon for local pellet producers

Feb 17, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Canada’s wood pellet producers are always on the lookout for new opportunities to expand their footprints in the global marketplace. While Japan, the U.K., and the EU continue to offer significant opportunities to producers, the announcement of a new project closer to home could offer the greatest opportunity for a company willing to take on some additional risk.

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2026 Arctic Bioenergy Summit and tour: Highlights from Yellowknife and presentations

Feb 09, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

The 2026 Arctic Bioenergy Summit and Tour brought together over 125 northern energy leaders, policymakers, and bioenergy experts in Yellowknife from January 26 to 28 to explore sustainable heating solutions for remote and Arctic communities. The event, hosted by the Arctic Energy Alliance and the Wood Pellet Association of Canada, showcased the theme Sustainable Bioenergy for Northern Communities: Reliable. Affordable. Local.

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How biomanufacturing and investment-ready BDO Zones can remake Canada’s forest economy

Feb 03, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Canada’s forest industry is being dismantled in plain sight. Over the past year, trade uncertainty and U.S. tariffs have erased thousands of forestry jobs and billions of dollars in economic value. Mills have closed. Communities that depend on forestry have been destabilized. Investment has stalled. This is not a cyclical downturn. It is a structural failure. For decades, Canada built its forest economy around a single export market and a narrow set of commodity products.

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2026 global pellet markets report: Strong historical growth with significant changes coming

Jan 29, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Global demand for industrial wood pellets, used primarily as a coal replacement in power generation, is projected to reach nearly 50 million tonnes by 2025, with significant shifts expected due to policy changes in the United Kingdom and growth in Asian markets. The industrial pellet sector expanded at a compound annual growth rate of 15.9% from 2012 to 2022, but exports dropped in 2023 amid the Russo-Ukrainian War.

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The state of Canadian renewable liquid fuels

Jan 22, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

During the Scaling Up Bio 2025 Conference this past November, president of Advanced Biofuels Canada Fred Ghatala offered attendees an update on the state of liquid clean fuels in Canada.

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Convertus completes rebrand of AIM Group of Companies

Jan 21, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

The Convertus Group (Convertus) has announced that the rebranding of AIM Group of Companies (AIM) under the Convertus brand has been completed. The company stated that the rebrand “reflects Convertus’ continued commitment to innovation and its mission to close the loop for a more sustainable future,” and brings together decades of combined expertise in organic waste processing.

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Ignace sawmill facing indefinite shutdown

Jan 13, 2026 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

The sawmill in this township along Highway 17 will be shutting down indefinitely in March. An Ignace spokesperson said Tuesday the township has been advised that the mill, owned by Domtar, will be shut down on March 12. “We are going to be meeting with (the mill’s management) in the very near future,” township outreach lead Jake Pastore told Newswatch. A Domtar representative, speaking on background, confirmed the March 12 shutdown date and said the reasons for the decision are in a Jan.

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From sawmills to pellets, fibre access is the breaking point

Dec 17, 2025 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Across British Columbia, mills representing every level of the forest sector, including sawmills, pulp mills and now a pellet plant, are closing or curtailing at an alarming pace. They serve different markets but are part of an integrated system. While global markets and tariffs certainly shape the broader economic landscape, the real driver of today’s challenges is the lack of accessible fibre that every part of the sector depends on.

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CHAR Technologies receives $2.25 million in funding to scale up commercial operations

Dec 10, 2025 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

CHAR Technologies (CHAR Tech) has received additional assistance to help grow its operations in Ontario thanks to $2.25 million in funding courtesy of the Government of Ontario’s Forest Biomass Program. The funding will help the company scale up its biocarbon commercial pellet operations, which is produced from sawmill residuals and other underutilized wood. Canadian Biomass was in attendance for the announcement made at CHAR Tech’s production facility in Thorold, Ont.

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NRCan cuts threaten capacity to track wildfires, PIPSC claims

Dec 08, 2025 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

According to the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PDAC), more than 200 of its members at Natural Resources Canada have recently received notices that they may lose their positions as part of the federal government’s plan to cut tens of thousands of positions over the next three years. “Cuts are already hurting Canada’s most vulnerable populations, and now our environmental protections will pay the price too,” said Sharon DeSousa, PSAC national president.

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Advancing renewable energy partnerships in Japan

Dec 08, 2025 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) was proud to participate in the November trade mission to Japan alongside Alberta Minister of Forestry and Parks, Todd Loewen and British Columbia Minister of Forests, Ravi Parmar. This mission was important for strengthening relationships with Japanese energy partners and showcasing Canada’s role as a trusted supplier of renewable biomass energy. Japan has emerged as the world’s fastest-growing export market for wood pellets.

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Drax closing Williams Lake, B.C. pellet plant

Nov 28, 2025 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Forest Industries

Global renewable energy producer Drax has announced that it will be closing its wood pellet plant in Williams Lake, B.C. at the end of 2025. The decision stems from a significant reduction in affordable, available fibre due to curtailments and closures of surrounding sawmills, as well as the loss of a bid for locally supplied fibre.

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Drax closing Williams Lake, B.C. pellet plant

Nov 28, 2025 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Global renewable energy producer Drax has announced that it will be closing its wood pellet plant in Williams Lake, B.C. at the end of 2025. The decision stems from a significant reduction in affordable, available fibre due to curtailments and closures of surrounding sawmills, as well as the loss of a bid for locally supplied fibre.

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“Show me, don’t tell me”: CleanBC review calls for more made-in-B.C. biofuels

Nov 27, 2025 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Advanced Biofuels Canada Association (ABFC) congratulates the Province of British Columbia and the independent panel on the release of Rising to the Moment – Renewing CleanBC to improve affordability, strengthen the economy and ensure a cleaner future. The report sends a clear message: to align B.C.’s energy system with evolving global standards while protecting affordability, B.C. must accelerate the production and use of made-in-B.C. biofuels.

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ABFC applauds Canada’s commitment to the Belém 4X Sustainable Fuels Pledge

Nov 14, 2025 |

By Andrew Snook

| Canadian Biomass

Advanced Biofuels Canada Association (ABFC) welcomes the Government of Canada’s announcement that it will join the Belém 4X Pledge on Sustainable Fuels, a landmark international commitment to quadruple the global use of sustainable fuels by 2035.

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