Canadian bioenergy has good potential despite funding and political frustrations   

Colin Ley analyses the market in Canada. Bioenergy use in Canada could more than double in step with the country’s drive towards net-zero by 2050 according to market projections compiled by the Canada Energy Regulator (CER).  Growth for bioenergy from its current 7% share of the country’s energy mix is forecast to be more rapid when viewed from a Canada net-zero (CNZ) perspective than if judged in global net-zero (GNZ) terms. The CNZ position is projected to take bioenergy to a 16% market share by 2050, setting an optimistic mood for sector progress across the country. CNZ growth is also projected to be more rapid and successful than when based on GNZ forecasts, further boosting the country’s bioenergy prospects over the next 25 years. Achieving such ambitious growth rates in reality, of course, will depend on a sustained supply of feedstock and the raising of solid investment support for bioenergy initiatives from both public and private sources. On the feedstock front, CER lists four residual feedstock residues, drawn from crops, forests, livestock, and unban wastes, alongside two purpose-grown or managed feedstock types in the form of energy crops and forestry...