The ample volumes of residual forest fibre energy available across North America is evidenced by the increasing number and ferocity of wildfires in the US and Canada
Recently Madison’s had the opportunity to visit the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship’s Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Academy, based at the Alex Fraser Research Forest in central BC. This included a field visit to a forest residual biomass collection project and a biomass fuel-to-electricity production facility. Here is the first of three stories detailing those excellent projects:
As the dynamics of forest management, timber harvest, lumber manufacturing, and the economics of residual fibre use develop and mature, the mechanisms of woody biomass extraction has changed from past practices, and will continue to change.
According to a report by Natural Resources Canada in November 2025, “The range of applications for forest biomass is large, and market demand for these applications continues to grow, both in Canada and internationally. Forest bioproducts offer Canada the opportunity to make
the most of its abundant forest resources. In order to determine where to situate potential biorefineries and how to best match the feedstock to conversion technologies, the feedstock must be quantified, characterized, and classified.”
To that end, the U.S. Forest Service in September 2025 awarded US$23 million to 35 grant recipients to support the removal and transport of approximately 1.1 million tons of low-value woody biomass from national forests to processing facilities. A portion of that material is expected to be used to produce energy and wood pellets.
SOURCE: University of Washington State
In British Columbia, there is still a significant amount of post-harvest residual fibre that is simply burned. This practice of slash-pile burning continues because the economics of moving the cumbersome, lightweight, odd-sized woody biomass material is costly. At the same time, the market for this bioenergy feedstock in BC remains weak. So the sales price currently does not support the cost of moving that biomaterial to a production facility.
This is often due to the large distances that fibre would travel, and the low population in many areas which keeps demand low. However, there are solutions to this which have worked well in other jurisdictions like the Scandinavian countries, Germany, and Japan.
A research paper published in October 2025 recent paper published by leading wildfire scientists led by Paul Hessburg on Ecological Society of America explains, “Efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions from
forests depend on stabilized biomass conditions, but climate change is increasing burned area and fire severity. [ . . . ]
Assessing future GHG balances requires quantification of the amounts and configurations of biomass stored in forests, their vulnerability to disturbance, and net impacts of realistic managed transitions to stabilized conditions.”
As well, the value of preventing carbon emissions by managing the fuel load left behind from timber harvesting operations, specifically in view of preventing forest fires, is measurable.
A report published by the US Forest Service in June 2025 explains, “The findings suggest that five out of six alternative forest residue utilizations have a lower global warming impact than the given amount of residue burned in piles (from 15 % less for sustainable aviation fuel to 345 % less for biochar).”
Forest bioenergy from forest biomass
Forest biomass used for bioenergy comes from several sources, including:
- Sustainable forest management by-products and other harvesting waste:
- Typically includes branches, treetops, and other parts of a tree left over from harvesting or sustainable forest management practices.
- Sometimes includes trees that cannot be used for other purposes such as trees damaged from pest infestations (e.g., mountain pine beetle) or forest-fires.
- Forest product manufacturing byproducts:
- Typically includes wood chips and sawdust left over from forest product manufacturing (e.g., sawdust from lumber production).
- Post-consumer wood waste:
- Typically includes wood waste from the construction industry (e.g., demolition materials), household and commercial waste (e.g., wooden furniture) and factories or warehouses (e.g., pallets, crates).
In 2025, fires had burned 8.3 million hectares of Canadian forests by the end of summer, making it Canada’s second-worst wildfire season on record. As well in 2025, Canada’s first industrial-scale biochar plant was inaugurated in Québec, while the Strathcona refinery in Alberta will become Canada’s largest facility for renewable diesel.
Meanwhile, in the heart of Wet’suwet’en territory just outside Smithers, BC, the Wetzin’kwa Community Forest Corporation (WCFC) manages more than 30,000 hectares of mixed forest and alpine terrain.
WCFC works to balance environmental health, local economic opportunity, and cultural responsibility – a model of sustainable forest management rooted in collaboration and respect.
This new approach to forest residuals management aligns with WCFC’s broader mission: to protect ecological integrity while supporting local economies. That focus on local benefit extends to WCFC’s partnerships with small businesses and sawmills.
Small-scale demand locally
The forest stand the UBC CHP Academy in BC’s central interior region is currently working on was a highly degraded stand that lacked opportunity for much recovery of higher-value logs, and had a very high density understory. Overall, there are sales of some small amounts of merchantable timber to cover the cost of the operations, however this project is mostly focussed on as a stand improvement investment.
“The objective is not only to demonstrate that low-value forest residues can generate renewable heat and power, but to equip communities — particularly forest-dependent and remote regions — with the knowledge to assess, operate, and manage these systems independently. By linking stand improvement with technical training, the project connects wildfire risk reduction, local energy production, and workforce development into one integrated model.”
SOURCE: https://madisonsreport.com
“The use of such fibre in a local bioheat or combined heat and power plant provides alternative uses for low grade residues.
This is something that is being demonstrated through the CHP Academy hosted by the UBC Alex Fraser Research Forest in Williams Lake, BC. The academy provides a hands-on training program designed to build practical capacity in small-scale biomass energy systems.
Participants engage directly with fuel processing, moisture management, system operation, emissions considerations, and maintenance protocols.”
“The objective is not only to demonstrate that low-value forest residues can generate renewable heat and power, but to equip communities — particularly forest-dependent and remote regions — with the knowledge to assess, operate, and manage these systems independently. By linking stand improvement with technical training, the project connects wildfire risk reduction, local energy production, and workforce development into one integrated model.”
In addition to increasing use of residual forest fibre to make energy,decarbonizing the forestry chain itself adds to the benefit. Diesel machinery, gas-fired kilns, and petrochemical adhesives all add emissions that can be avoided. Electric harvesters, battery trucks, biomass or heat pump kilns, and lignin-based adhesives are available or near commercial.
Every sawmill generates bark, sawdust, and offcuts. Those residues can fuel high efficiency boilers or be fed into biomass gasifiers to provide process heat and electricity.
STAY TUNED FOR PART II: Biomass Fuel Electric Power Plant Tour
Source: https://madisonsreport.com/woody-biomass-to-energy-forest-residue/
