Biomass has become a big file in on a world-wide scale and B.C. offers substantial opportunities in these emerging green-oriented (carbon neutral) forestry business practices. "We have quite a few clients in wood-products manufacturing and they are inquiring about regulatory changes from the B.C. government energy plan (of 2007)," says Mercer.
"The plan outlines the energy strategies for the next few years with the goal of energy self-sufficiency by 2016," he says. Government policy has been undertaken to meet these energy goals, and institutional frameworks like the B.C. BioEnergy Network have been allocated funding to encourage development of research in nine basic streams of energy production from renewable or reusable resources.
Canadians are behind parts of Europe where most facets of resource potential are exploited, including cities doing energy production from forest waste products found in Canadian sawmills and turned into wood pellets. Mercer says federal policies in Canada favour reduction of 'carbon intensities,' and part of B.C.'s energy policy reflects that strategy.
"The federal government says that suppliers must reduce carbon intensities by 20 percent between 2010 and 2020." Suppliers with carbon-based energy output are looking at research into celulosic-based ethynol (alcohol fuel derived from wood waste), which, "emits smaller carbon intensity than other ethynols."
And, he notes, "Co-generation is not uncommon in the forestry sector, with pulp mills recycling biomass into hog fuel to power their facilities. Mercer says the Zimmfor approach to biomass potential looks at both sides of the equation, from the points of view of both wood product manufacturer and fibre supplier. One informative source to follow is the BC Forestry Climate Change Working Group of pulp and paper, saw-milling, and forestry sectors.
Decadent forests in B.C. are failing to sequester carbon due to mountain pine beetle devastation and other issues. These forests are under examination in Request For Power calls and Request For Qualification research proposals, and these forests stand to be harvested intensively for biomass, with high-priority silviculture operations to follow.
"The forestry sector is looking at carbon-offset programs related to fertilization of forests, use of seed-stock to make better carbon-sequestering trees, and aforestation policies to plant new forests," says Mercer.