The European Commission wants to prevent some forms of wood-burning energy from counting towards GHG reduction targets. In related news: biomass accounted for 22% of US renewables in 2020; and Ontario’s biomass plan receives endorsement from Canada’s pellet producers. Meanwhile: BC’s old-growth protests continue; Louisiana moves to protect its iconic cypress trees; and an NGO report says banks upped their tropical-deforestation investments during covid.
Company headlines include: San Group’s possible expansion to Terrace, BC; NRCan’s investment in fibre utilization at Mercer, Celgar; Canfor’s selection of Louisiana for its new sawmill; an update on Structurlam’s Arkansas project, and Collins Pine’s forest closure due to wildfire risks. Also: updates on AF&PA’s new sustainability goals, and SFPA’s Forest Products Expo.
Finally, Derek Nighbor’s personal journey and the importance of calling out bullying in all its forms.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
OTTAWA—If we want to turn the tide on the troubling statistics, our words and actions matter too. This Pride month let’s be mindful of the importance of calling out bullying and discrimination in all its forms. Like many boys who grew up in the Ottawa Valley, I loved hockey. During the NHL playoffs, I remember racing down to the kitchen table in the morning to check the scores from the night before. Regardless of what shift my dad was working, he always wrote down the scores for me as my bedtime was well before the time the late games ended. …Playing minor hockey, I was average at best and was quite fine with that. I so enjoyed being at the rink and on the ice with my friends. That all changed when I was 14. A new guy joined our team and he decided early that I would be his target. He was relentless in referring to me as “Nighbor girl”. I knew I was different, but this was the first time I realized someone else noticed it too. …As a gay kid growing up in a Catholic home and living in a rural area through the 1980s and early 1990s, I suppressed my sexuality. …I lived in constant fear that someone would find out I was gay, my parents wouldn’t love me anymore, and I would have no friends. It was an exhausting existence.
…Nearly 18 years later, with the support of my family, some incredible allies, and because Canada’s forest sector leaders believed in me, I find myself in a job that I absolutely love—working in service to over 230,000 forestry workers and contractors across Canada to create opportunities for them and their families.
CASTLEGAR, BC
Forestry Minister Stuart Nash is well qualified to advance the cause for wood but 20 years in the sector does not qualify him to close one eye when it comes to complementary options, says publisher Mike Bishara, Scion Innovation Hub – Rotorua. The Heavy Engineering Research Association (HERA) maintains that design should dictate material, advocating for the right material based on design that has been tested, consented and peer-reviewed where appropriate. Chief executive Troy Coyle says these decisions should not be dictated by government or industry bodies but by architects and engineers… Some of the conversation suggests that a ‘wood first’ policy would help New Zealand do better against emissions targets. …While wood is absolutely right for many jobs and applications, mandating its use for all projects could create economic and other problems. …it is just as essential that future buildings are resilient to our changing climate, and steel and concrete offer resilient buildings.
Day two of the BC First Nations Forestry Conference starts this morning at 9:30 am. This year’s theme is “BC First Nations as Full Partners”. Register now to join the virtual event.
Well, folks of the Alberni Valley, we live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, but we are losing control and respect of our environment and the future of our water resources because we are letting the forest companies plunder the environment. I may be just a dumb old retired logger but I have written letters to the editor for years about the future state of our water resources; I have said before that if we do not stop logging our watersheds we will eventually have to get our potable water from Great Central Lake. We are entering into a very hot and dry summer and we will soon learn that Mother Nature is still in charge.
Join the biggest names in the business in person this August at the Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Exposition (EXPO), presented by the Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA). Over 115 companies will be displaying everything from commercial and portable sawmill machinery to materials handling equipment, attracting key representatives from the nation’s largest wood products manufacturers. EXPO provides a space for both hardwood and softwood sawmillers to gather, celebrate new technology, network, and learn about the industry’s latest products. New for 2021, 
The U.S. consumed a record 12 percent of renewable energy in 2020, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on June 16. Wood and waste energy accounted for approximately 22 percent of renewables. According to the EIA, consumption of renewable energy in the U.S. grew for the fifth consecutive year in 2020, reaching a record high of 11.6 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu), or 12 percent of total U.S. energy consumption. Renewable energy was the only source of U.S. energy consumption that increased in 2020 from 2019; fossil fuel and nuclear consumption declined. Wood and waste energy, including wood, wood pellets, and biomass waste from landfills, accounted for about 22 percent of U.S. renewable energy consumption last year. …Biofuels, including fuel ethanol, biodiesel and other renewable fuels, accounted for an additional 17 percent of U.S. renewable energy consumption.
Brussels wants to tighten rules to prevent some forms of wood-burning energy from counting towards the EU’s green energy targets after rising pressure from environmental groups and scientists. The European Commission will propose strengthening its “sustainability criteria” to measure whether forms of biomass… should be considered as renewable. Biomass makes up nearly two-thirds of the renewable energy in the EU, dwarfing output from sources such as wind and solar power. …The leaked document says that wood from diverse and primary forest land, known as “no-go areas”, should not be considered as renewable. Primary forest material accounts for about 18 per cent of all biomass produced in the EU. The proposed EU rules will cover biomass plants with a fuel capacity of more than 5 megawatts, lowering a threshold that presently stands at 20 megawatts. The commission also encourages member states not to burn high-quality wood for energy production unless other forms have been exhausted. 
