Биомасса может стать новым источником дохода для struggling лесной промышленности Новой Шотландии

Can biomass breathe new life into Nova Scotia's struggling forestry sector? For generations, Nova Scotia’s forests have been a foundation of the province’s economy. But the traditional business model built around sawmills, pulpwood and large-scale paper production has been under growing pressure. The closure of the Northern Pulp mill in Pictou County in 2020 exposed just how vulnerable the sector had become. Forestry GDP fell by 15 per cent following the mill’s closure, while forestry exports declined by 18 per cent, according to Forest Nova Scotia. About 300 direct jobs disappeared at the mill, while more than 500 additional jobs tied to its supply chain, including harvesting and trucking, were affected. The shutdown also removed the province’s dominant market for lower-value wood fibre. Before Northern Pulp closed, about 95 per cent of all sawmill chips produced in Nova Scotia were sent to the mill, along with roughly 80 per cent of the pulpwood it purchased from private lands. Now, industry leaders are looking toward an emerging opportunity: turning branches, bark and other low-grade fibre into energy. ‘The industry is almost dead’ The concept is part of a broader circular bioeconomy that could give Nova Scotia’s forestry sector another source of revenue while creating markets for material that might otherwise be left on the forest floor. “The industry will embrace it very quickly because the industry is almost dead,” said Breck Stuart, president of Forest Nova Scotia. “Anything is better than nothing.” One of the most ambitious projects is taking shape on the province’s Eastern Shore. Nova Sustainable Fuels is planning a multibillion-dollar renewable-energy project that would use biomass from Nova Scotia’s forestry and forest-based industries to produce sustainable aviation fuel, providing an alternative to conventional petroleum-based aviation fuel. For an industry struggling to find markets for its fibre, projects such as that could represent an important new customer. Stuart said a biomass market could also complement efforts to improve the health of Nova Scotia’s forests. “If that’s what we need to do to grow a better forest and keep the industry alive, then the sector should quickly adapt. “We’ve seen that over the last few years with the implementation of ecological forestry. Even for private woodlot owners, if they want to thin their woodlot or clean it up, practices that will improve it, then they could sell their small-grade into this energy market. That would quickly happen.” The challenge is creating enough demand to make moving that low-grade fibre worthwhile. The provincial government has begun putting money behind that effort. Nova Scotia’s spring budget included an $8-million funding package aimed at helping forestry contractors and private woodlot owners move low-grade wood to market while reducing wildfire risk. The funding comes as the province continues to deal with the aftermath of post-tropical storm Fiona, which struck Nova Scotia in 2022 and left tens of thousands of trees damaged, uprooted or flattened. It was the most intense post-tropical cyclone to hit Canada on record and the costliest weather event in Atlantic Canada history. Four years later, cleanup is still underway in parts of the province. “That’s still happening four years later,” said Stuart, who is also general manager of WestFor, the company that manages Crown land in western Nova Scotia for sawmill owners. Government funding can help woodlot owners recover from the storm while removing dead and fallen timber that can contribute to wildfire risk. But Stuart sees a larger economic opportunity. A dependable market for low-grade fibre could allow forest managers to remove poorer-quality material while retaining healthier, higher-value trees. “Having a market for low-grade fibre allows you so many more options in forest management to improve the forest,” Stuart said. “Take the worst and leave the best. “There’s an opportunity to make electricity out of biomass. We’re using our forest to clean water and collect carbon out of the atmosphere and to grow, invest in having higher-value products. “It’s OK to get that low-grade fibre out because we’re doing it as a means of improving the forest,” he continued. “And having more deadwood laying around doesn’t help us in our fight against wildfire.” Stuart points to Finland as an example of what a more developed biomass economy could look like. The northern European country has limited domestic fossil-fuel resources but has extensive forests and a large energy-intensive industrial base. Wood-based fuels have consequently become an important part of its energy system, with 32 per cent of the country’s energy source coming from forestry waste. Finland has also set a target of reaching carbon neutrality by 2035. “The Finns are absolutely amazing at it,” Stuart said. “They’ve been doing it for a long time, and you can clearly see the benefits that they have in their forest management from having those options.” The Finnish example, he said, demonstrates how low-grade fibre can support multiple industries, from heating and electricity to new products that could eventually replace petroleum-based materials. For Nova Scotia, the potential market is particularly significant because the province continues to rely on fossil fuels and imported electricity to meet some of its energy needs. Stuart said biomass could play a role if its use is tied to responsible forest management rather than simply increasing the amount of wood harvested for fuel. “We still use coal and oil to make electricity, and we still buy extremely expensive electricity,” he said. “If we have a program that’s based on not just clearcutting the forest to get fuel for electricity but making sure that it’s regulated so that it’s forest improvement, we’ve got a huge opportunity there to make electricity.” That opportunity is being explored in one northern Nova Scotia town. The provincial government is providing $184,000 for research into a community-owned district heating system in New Glasgow that would use biomass to provide low-carbon heat to businesses and residents. Rather than each building having its own furnace, boiler or heat pump, the proposed system would generate heat at a central plant and distribute it through insulated underground pipes. The approach could eventually connect multiple buildings across the community to a shared heating network. Timothy Halman, the Nova Scotia minister of environment and climate change, said the project could help lower and stabilize energy costs while strengthening the local economy. “Clean district heating systems are a proven, practical step toward decarbonizing our communities and reducing emissions while putting people at the centre of their energy future,” Halman said. “New Glasgow’s vision has the potential to reduce and stabilize energy costs for residents, strengthen local economic activity and improve energy security and resilience in New Glasgow. It’s an important example of how Nova Scotian communities can tackle climate change while making life more affordable.” Bioheat systems using renewable biomass have the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 90 per cent, according to the province. For Stuart, the potential goes beyond heating. “Once it gets going, people will start seeing that the town of New Glasgow gets really cheap heat. They’ve got hot water coming through their pipes every day, and they’re making electricity and capturing carbon,” he said. “The technology is not new. Look across the ocean. Denmark, Finland, Sweden, they’re all doing it. They do it very well and it works so great. We could have that.” The challenge, Stuart said, is getting Nova Scotians to think differently about energy and how the province’s forest resources are used. “We have to change the mindset,” he said. “The first thing we do is think of all the reasons why we can’t do it: too much rock, we can’t put pipes in the ground, it’s so expensive, we can’t tear up all our roads and put pipes into all our houses.” Despite the potential, Stuart cautions that biomass is not going to transform Nova Scotia’s energy or forestry sectors overnight. “We’re still driven on wind and solar, natural gas and windmills, but nobody’s recognizing the opportunity with biomass,” Stuart said. “It’s a complicated one to get your head around. We could take biomass from the forest, burn it for electricity, capture the carbon, so it’s net zero. “But the real gain is the next crop of forest, the new trees that are growing up are pulling carbon out of the atmosphere that the other ones wouldn’t have if it was stagnant or end of life. “So, it’s that new opportunity that you’re really trying to sell . . . and that’s tricky.”