4th International BioEnergy Conference and Exhibition opens today

PRINCE GEORGE—Canada’s largest conference on bioenergy gets underway in Prince George, British Columbia today. The 4th International BioEnergy Conference and Exhibition, co-hosted by the BC Bioenergy Network, features 44 speakers, 54 exhibitors and 350 delegates from across North America and Europe.

“The program we’ve put together this year is easily the best, most comprehensive coverage of the bioenergy industry we’ve had since the conference started in 2004,” said Michael Kerr, Conference Co-founder and 2010 Conference Chair. “We’ve got all the bases covered. All biomass feedstocks – wood, agriculture, municipal waste – a full range of technologies – from existing systems to what’s coming to commercialization next – and a range of voices from presenters representing most of the key Western economies.”

A key factor in the success of this year’s conference was the partnership between the International Bioenergy Conference and Exhibition Society and the BC Bioenergy Network, which has been instrumental in attracting a global audience to the conference.

“As an organization that strives to take a leadership role in establishing a world class bioenergy industry in British Columbia, the BC Bioenergy Network recognized this conference as one of the best in the country,” said Michael Weedon. “We look forward to opening the conference with our partners in Prince George today and to the intellectual and commercial energy it is sure to create.”

Pat Bell, BC Minister of Forests and Range, opened the International Partnerships Forum and pre-conference business-to-business meetings earlier today. Co-hosted by the Northern Bioenergy Partnership and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, these meetings will allow representatives from Canadian companies to meet with the counterparts at companies from Europe to discuss potential business partnerships and investment opportunities.

Minister Bell outlined seven key developments undertaken by the province in the last two years, most of them in the last few months, which will encourage effective utilization of forest residues, attract international investment and support the development of a vibrant bioenergy industry. They include:
• Amendments to the Forest Act to encourage the use of wood for bioenergy;
• As part of the Clean Energy Bill, primary harvesters can be ordered not to burn logging waste;
• New “stand-as-a-whole” pricing for beetle-killed timber stands to encourage more biomass utilization;
• New “receiving license” designed to increase long-term security of fibre supply for the bioenergy industry;
• Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) funding for innovation in new clean energy technologies;
• Support for the BC Bioenergy Network to improve knowledge transfer into the marketplace; and,
• Phase Two of the Bioenergy Call for Power, announced last week.

“We are extremely encouraged by this government’s commitment to a strong bioenergy sector as demonstrated by the Minister’s actions and his words to an international audience today,” said Tim McEwan, Interim Chair of the Northern Bioenergy Partnership, which is also sponsoring the field tours at the end of the conference. “They support the Partnership’s goal of being a catalyst for the development of a vibrant, innovative and sustainable forest-based bioenergy industry in Northern British Columbia.”

The 4th International Bioenergy Conference and Exhibition gets underway with a networking reception this evening at the University of Northern BC. Then the conference itself gets underway at the Prince George Civic Centre beginning at 8 a.m. on June 9. The speakers’ program includes presenters from Canada, United States, New Zealand, Austria, Sweden, Italy and Germany.

The conference opens with a keynote presentation from Dana Hayden, Deputy Minister of Forests and Range with the Province of BC. In the first session alone, delegates will hear from two nominees for the 2010 World Bioenergy Award – Ralph Sims of the Centre for Energy Research at Massey University in New Zealand, and Prince George native John Swaan, considered the grandfather of the pellet industry in Canada, and currently CEO of Magnolia Bioenergy, a Georgia-based bioenergy startup company.

The conference then moves into a lively discussion of some of the key policy issues facing the bioenergy industry worldwide and in British Columbia, as well as sessions on issues of sustainability, carbon markets, and the economics of the industry. The first afternoon also features separate sessions on the emerging clean technology industry.

Day 2 features a comprehensive look at the nuts and bolts of all sectors of the bioenergy industry. At one end of the conference centre, the day starts with an overview of existing technologies and how they are being leveraged to further develop and refine the industry. This session is followed by a series of presentations on technologies that are making a splash through the research and development phases and are sure to impact the future of the bioenergy industry.

Upstairs at the other end of the conference centre there will be two sessions touching on topics that will become increasingly important to the industry in British Columbia: Community and Municipal Energy and Agricultural Bioenergy.

In addition to the comprehensive conference program, this year’s event also includes a trade show that features over 50 exhibitors from across the industry. Wrapping up the conference, delegates will be taken on two optional field tours. One will go to the Canfor Pulp cogeneration facility while the other will take delegates through the Baldy Hughes community energy system. Both tours will finish with a look at the Nexterra gasification system and the bioenergy research facility at the University of Northern BC.

A full program of activities can be accessed at www.bioenergyconference.org .

For information:

Cam McAlpine, Event Manager
International Bioenergy Conference and Exhibition
+1-250-961-6611
info@bioenergyconference.org

Sandy Ferguson, Director of Marketing
BC Bioenergy Network
+1-604-891-1260
sandy.ferguson@bcbioenergy.ca

Short URL: http://northernbcbusiness.com/?p=1103

Posted by fadams on 9:19 pm. Filed under Alternative Energy, North Central, North Coast, North East, North West, Press Releases, Prince George. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry