Supply Sources

Security of Supply in Europe

In order to meet the Kyoto protocols, Europe has been diversifying its energy needs. Biomass is a significant part of European energy production for both heating and electricity needs. Over the last year, Russia has exerted some political pressure in the energy sector by shutting off natural gas supplies to vast areas of western, central and eastern Europe. With the increasing demand, many European countries and companies are looking for other areas of secure supply, and biomass is well established as a reliable source of renewable energy in Europe. Due to the goals in place in Europe for the reduction of greenhouse gases, and the mandate to increase the portion of renewable energy used, biomass energy is in an ideal position to take a large share of that market.

Politics. Traditionally, British Columbia’s wood supply has been controlled by their government and major wood producers. In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada pronounced a line of reasoning that inserted a 3rd stakeholder into the ownership of the wood supply: the indigenous people of Canada(often referred to as the First Nations). Over the last ten years, these three groups have been searching for ways to collaborate.

Sea 2 Sky demonstrates leadership in engaging these groups and unlocking the ability to secure supply for sustainable operations by:

  • Including Indigenous Peoples (i.e., First Nations) in natural resource development choice selection;
  • Planning to create on-reserve work opportunities for Indigenous peoples; and
  • Intending to provide capital markets security and liquidity of investment in areas of political uncertainty.

The Sea 2 Sky Supply Source

British Columbia has tremendous untapped potential for woody biomass. This includes unused sawmill waste (sawdust, shavings) as well as residues from existing forestry operations such as logging slash, and trees unusable for the productions of construction lumber. In addition to this, since the late 1990's, a large portion of the pine forests in B.C. have been infested with the Mountain Pine Beetle, a pest that quickly makes the tree unusable for construction lumber. The Pine Beetle killed wood is perfectly suitable for biomass processes and wood pellet production. Based on a Government funded study, between mountain pine beetle infected wood, mill residue, current timber harvesting, and improved forest practices, the combined sustainable volume available for woody biomass processing in BC is a total of approximately 28,000,000 tons (being potentially upwards of 6.4 billion dollars in current market value) per year for the next 15 to 20 years. Considering that currently only about 3 million tons per year are used to produce wood pellets, the potential supply is enormous.

Map of Infected Region

The infestation in BC is the largest such pellet-able biomass region in North America (the size of the State of Virginia, over 42 thousand square miles), and likely the world. Currently Sea 2 Sky is negotiating with supply sources that may lead biomass resource processing in North America, with a market potential of millions of tons per year.