According to Government of Canada, Canada has a total land area of 997 million hectares, nearly half of which is covered by forests. Canadian forests represent 10% of the world’s forested area with some 244 million hectares of forested area used for logging and producing commercially exploitable stands. A powerful driving force in the Canadian economy for decades, the forestry industry is also a major consumer of energy, chemicals, transportation services, machinery, and processing systems. The modernization of mills and the introduction of state-of-the-art technology in a sustainable and cost effective way is required to keep up with global competition and rapidly changing market demands. Green Tech Avenue and Partners are able to provide support to saw, lumber, and pellet mills through knowledge transfer and the incorporation of new green technologies that supply value-added benefits, create improved products, and generate new revenue pathways.
Challenges facing the forestry sector are:
- On-site clean energy generation for saw mill wood processing
- Remote harnessing of forest residue and transformation into biofuel
- High transportation and energy costs for managing logistic and trade channels
- Drying and pre-drying of hardwoods and lumber products to create higher quality levels
- Challenges to access new markets