the headlines
This year’s theme is Building Canada Stronger: Navigating the Global Wood Pellet Transition. As we navigate a rapidly changing bioenergy landscape, the Canadian industry must focus on securing supply, building resilient energy systems, and advancing next-generation bioenergy solutions.
Over the course of the conference, you will learn how the global industry is addressing key challenges—from fibre access and supply risk to safety and process safety management—while positioning Canada for emerging opportunities such as black pellets, BECCS, and domestic market expansion.
What you’ll take away from this year’s conference:
- A stronger understanding of shifting global wood pellet markets and increasing international competition.
- Practical insights into upcoming policy and regulatory changes in key markets, including the EU, UK and Japan.
- Strategies to manage fibre access challenges and mitigate supply risk.
- Perspectives on positioning Canada for next-generation opportunities such as black pellets, BECCS, carbon dioxide removal, and domestic markets.
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. Our role is to support the competitiveness of Canadian pellets, advance safety leadership and build long‑term market confidence—work that no single company can do as effectively on its own.
At a time of evolving global markets, tightening sustainability requirements and growing scrutiny of bioenergy, working together matters more than ever. Becoming a WPAC member is about contributing to our shared strength, credibility and long‑term resilience as a sector.
On March 12, 2026, industry leaders and technical experts from across the global biomass sector gathered in Tokyo, Japan, for the Safe Wood Pellet Storage: Preventing, Detecting, and Managing Self‑Heating Incidents workshop. Organized by the Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) in collaboration with Ørsted, FutureMetrics, Firefly and Hanwa, the one‑day event focused on addressing safety challenges facing large‑scale wood pellet storage: self‑heating and its potential to escalate into fires or explosions.
I recently had the opportunity to see firsthand how Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd. (CCR), a joint venture of three First Nations, is transforming stands of burned trees just outside Williams Lake, BC, into a fibre source for wood pellet and pulp & paper production. We recorded the visit so that others could experience what we saw.
Standing in the forest impacted by the 2017 Palmer Lake fire, I could see the devastation of the wildfire in the charred, dead trees stretched across the landscape. But there were clear signs of renewal. A layer of green lodgepole pine seedlings formed a layer across the ground, demonstrating the forest’s natural ability to regenerate.
Using low-carbon, locally sourced wood pellets and biomass to heat homes and commercial and industrial buildings offers a practical way to reduce strain on Canada’s energy grid, while lowering heating costs for consumers. It’s been a productive spring discussing the role of biomass in Canada’s energy future.
In May, I represented the Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) at the Energizing Efficiency Conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick. While much of the conference focused on electrification and energy efficiency, WPAC highlighted the important role that biomass heating can play in reducing emissions while relieving pressure on electrical systems. I also delivered Canadian Biomass’ webinar Bioheat: Delivering Decarbonization, Affordability and Energy Resistance.
safety first focus
The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) and its Safety Committee are committed to fostering a safety culture across the forest products industry. One way we do this is by hosting safety events, including the 2026 Wood Pellet and Bioenergy Safety Summit, held in Prince George, British Columbia, last month.
The Summit brought together 30 industry leaders, safety professionals, and regulators for two days of focused discussion, collaboration, and learning. Co-hosted by the BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) and WorkSafeBC, with Canadian Biomass as the media sponsor, the event emphasized a shared commitment to advancing safety practices across the sector, with sessions covering technical hazard prevention, operational excellence, worker well-being and mental health.
Rotary drum dryers remain the most common—and most practical—drying technology in Canadian pellet plants. They are robust, heat-efficient and responsive to changes in feed moisture. At the same time, incident history across the sector shows a recurring reality: when a dryer incident occurs, it rarely involves only the drum. It can involve the entire integrated line, from the furnace and dilution duct to the drum and cyclones and through the induced-draft fan and quench interface.
To help the industry reduce fires and explosions in rotary drum dryers, the Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) has released a Safer Operations of Rotary Drum Dryers report. The report was developed by a multi-stakeholder Rotary Drum Dryer Working Group tasked with consolidating lessons from incident reviews and bowtie analysis into practical expectations for safer, verifiable operation—what “good” looks like when the process is under stress, not just when it is steady.
Read the report: Safer Operations of Rotary Drum Dryers
Utilize Fact Sheet: Seven Habits for Fire Prevention in Rotary Drum Dryers
Process safety management (PSM) remains a core focus for the Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) and its members as the sector continues to strengthen safety performance and operational resilience.
Building on the CSA Z767 standard, the WPAC Safety Committee and PSM Working Group have committed to a focused, achievable approach in 2026 that includes foundational activities to support long-term PSM maturity across the industry. The key areas of focus are:
- Developing and Validating Plant‑level Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs)
- Implementing Management of Change (MOC) Systems
- Reviewing and Documenting Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID) Gap Assessments
The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) is proud to recognize Operational Supervisor Kevin Storie of Drax Smithers as our latest Safety Hero for his consistent, hands-on commitment to keeping people safe and operations running responsibly.
Kevin leads by example every day, leveraging his operational experience to lead his team to safe outcomes. He is involved in continuous improvement across the site, constantly challenging the team to think critically about how to make it even safer.
The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) is pleased to announce our latest Safety Hero, Scott McPhee, Operations Superintendent at Drax Burns Lake in BC. Scott continually motivates his colleagues to work safely.
Scott is a long-time champion for workplace safety. Before his current role, he served as HS&E Manager with Drax, building a foundation of safety leadership that continues to this day. He is a strong advocate for Drax’s Zero Harm program and a vocal and respected member of the Joint Health and Safety Committee.
Upcoming events
The geopolitical situation, high fossil fuel prices, and energy security risks show the urgent need to increase domestic and renewable energy sources. As a CO2-neutral fuel, sustainable bioenergy is a key component in decarbonising and securing our energy supply. Market transformation towards modern, efficient and low-emission bioheat systems offers significant opportunities for affordable and local energy supply as well as climate and environment protection.
The International Training Seminar being put on by the Clean Tech Energy Cluster focuses on small- to mid-scale projects fuelled by wood pellets and wood chips. It covers solutions for homes, smaller commercial/public buildings and district heating grids (up to a few Megawatt).
The seminar offers interactive learning in an international group, educational site visits and presentations by experts in bioenergy technologies, market development and the sustainability of bioenergy.