Canadian Biomass

It’s time to talk at the Wood Pellet Association of Canada's 2026 Annual Conference!

WPAC executive director Gordon Murray moderates panel discussion, “Strengthening Canada’s Energy Resilience with Biomass: Heat, Industry, and Domestic Supply,” with panelists Mark Heyck, executive director of the Arctic Energy Alliance; Jonathan Levesque, general manager of Biomass Solutions Biomasse; David Dubois, manager of business development for Fink Machine Inc.; and Denis D. Caron, president and CEO for the Belledune Port Authority.

It’s time to talk BECCS, CDR’s and carbon markets at Wood Pellet Association of Canada's 2026 Annual Conference in Victoria!

Moderator Jamie Stephen, managing director of TorchLight Bioresources, leads the discussion with panelists Bill Adams, chief sustainability officer and senior vice-president of Canadian pulp operations at Mercer International; and Don G. Roberts, president and CEO of Nawitka Capital Advisors Ltd.

The Black Pellets & Next-Gen Fuels panel session is underway at the Wood Pellet Association of Canada 2026 Annual Conference in Victoria!

Suzanne McMillan Wheatley, Principal of McMillan Wheatley Consulting Inc., is moderating the discussion with panelists William Strauss, president and founder of FutureMetrics; Patrick Lapointe, MBA, chief commercial officer of Airex Energy; Chris Wiberg, vice-president of Biomass Energy Lab; Paul Kalil, sales support representative of BE&E; and Andrew White, co-founder and CEO of CHAR Technologies Ltd.

The Fibre Access & Supply Security panel session is underway at the Wood Pellet Association of Canada 2026 Annual Conference, moderated by Gregg Koehler, sales manager of Sinclar Group Forest Products Ltd. and sales director for Premium Pellet.

Panel sessions speakers include Vaughan Bassett, WPAC president and senior vice-president of biomass sales and logistics for Drax Group; Karen Brandt, senior vice-president of public affairs and partnerships for Mosaic Forest Management; Shane Berg, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Forester, Ministry of Forests, Government of British Columbia; Fenton Travis, general manager for Shaw Renewables; Phillipe Theriault, CEO of Tsideldel Development Corporation and general manager of Tsi Del Del Enterprises Limited; and professor Shahab Sokhansanj, research leader, Biomass & Bioenergy Research Group at The University of British Columbia.

Keynote speech underway at Wood Pellet Association of Canada 2026 Annual Conference: What is Built in Canada: Capital, Risk, and the Forest‑Based Bioeconomy.

Don G. Roberts, president and CEO of Nawitka Capital Advisors Ltd., provides his perspective on what drives investment and project development in Canada’s forest sector, from competing uses of fibre and shifting sources of value to where capital is—and isn’t—flowing.

The Policy & Regulatory Outlook panel discussion is underway at the Wood Pellet Association of Canada's 2026 Annual Conference in Victoria!

Moderated by Karen Brandt, senior vice-president of public affairs and partnerships at Mosaic Forest Management, panelists for this session include: Manolis Karampinis, director for business development and membership for Bioenergy Europe; Yasuhisa Okamoto, managing director of Drax Asia Japan; Greg Rampley, director of forest innovation and dynamics for Canadian Forest Service’s Pacific Forestry Centre; and Søren Alsing, senior director of bioenergy, head of fuel and biocarbon supply at Ørsted.

At the Wood Pellet Association of Canada's opening session at its annual conference in Victoria, many kinds words were shared recognizing the impact that outgoing president Vaughan Bassett has had on the sector over the course of his career.

Read all about it here:
https://www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca/wpac-conference-kicks-off-with-celebration-of-longtime-president/

The Emerging Competition & Market Dynamics panel discussion is underway at the Wood Pellet Association of Canada 2026 Conference in Victoria, B.C.

Moderated by WPAC executive director Gordon Murray, the panel is comprised of Hannah Adler, deputy editor of Argus Media; William Strauss, president and founder of FutureMetrics; Manolis Karampinis, director for business development and membership for Bioenergy Europe; and Didzis Palejs, chairman of the Latvian Biomass Association.

Congratulations to Vaughan Bassett, president of WPAC and senior vice-president of biomass sales and logistics at Drax PLC, on his many accomplishments moving the wood pellet sector forward and best wishes in your next chapter!

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada’s 2026 Annual Conference kicked off its conference sessions this morning in Victoria, B.C.

Themed, “Building Canada Stronger: Navigating the Global Wood Pellet Transition,” the conference began with an opening plenary session moderated by WPAC associate executive director and conference chair Fahimeh Yazdan Panah, PhD, PMP, P.Eng.

The opening plenary featured a host of speakers including WPAC executive director Gordon Murray; Vaughan Bassett, president of WPAC and senior vice-president of biomass sales and logistics at Drax Group PLC; Cherie Whelan, CEO of the BC Forest Safety Council; and Frank Wall, operations superintendent of Premium Pellet Ltd.