Wood Pellet Association of Canada
Date: 2019-09-13
Advanced Biofuels Canada, Canadian Biogas Association, Canadian Gas Association, Electric Mobility Canada and Wood Pellet Association of Canada are forecasting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions of over 50 million metric tons (Mt) per year by 2030 through greater production and use of renewable energy in Canada.

Collectively, the associations say they represent technologies that can, with the right policy measures in place, exceed the proposed federal Clean Fuel Standard's objective of 30 Mt of annual GHG emission reductions by 2030.

To that end, the associations are calling on the Canadian federal government to adopt a Clean Fuel Strategy by 2020. The strategy would include setting a clear path to clean and renewable fuel use by 2030 by: establishing clear market signals for clean fuels and electric vehicles; aligning clean and renewable fuel regulations to meet targeted clean fuel and EV use; establish clean fuel program funding to support clean and renewable fuel production capacity and infrastructure investments, and support EV adoption; and Support research and development programs to maintain Canadian leadership in clean fuel technologies and innovation. (Source: Wood Pellet Association of Canada, Biomass Mag., Sept., 2019) Contact: Wood Pellet Association of Canada, www.pellet.org; Canadian Biogas Association, (613) 822-1004, www.biogasassociation.ca; Advanced Biofuels Canada, Ian Thompson, Pres., (604) 947-0040, ithomson@advancedbiofuels.ca, www.advancedbiofuels.ca

More Low-Carbon Energy News Advanced Biofuels Canada,  Canadian Biogas Association,  Wood Pellet Association of Canada,  Clean Fuel,  Biofuel,  

Wood Pellet Association of Canada
Date: 2019-09-09
Since 2017, the government of Canada has been developing the Clean Fuel Standard (CFS), a low carbon fuel standard-type policy, to reduce the life-cycle carbon intensity of fuels and energy used in Canada. The CFS aims to achieve 30 million tonnes CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) of annual reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2030.

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) has been providing input to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) as it works to design and shape the CFS. And, upon review of ECCC's proposed regulatory approach, WPAC is seriously concerned that the government will not allow end-use fuel switching in the buildings/stationary fuel use sector.

WPAC believes it is unfair for ECCC to recognize fuel switching from gasoline to electricity or hydrogen in transportation, but not to recognize switching from heating oil to solid biofuels -- wood pellets or chips -- for Canada's second largest renewable energy product -- solid biomass heating. To that end, WPAC made the following representations to ECCC:

One of the three primary objectives of the CFS is low-cost compliance. By prohibiting recognition of fuel switching for stationary applications, ECCC will actually significantly increase the cost of CFS compliance, exclude the forest sector from participation in the short-term, and inhibit investment in the most proven commercial technology for displacement of heating oil -- wood pellet and chip boilers.

Canada consumes approximately three billion lpy of heating oil, the majority of which is consumed by Canadians in rural and Atlantic Canada. The latter accounts for 44 pct of heating oil consumption in the residential sector and 50 pct of heating oil consumption in the commercial/institutional sectors. Rural and Atlantic Canada also have among the lowest per capita income. ECCC's proposed regulatory approach will make CFS compliance for these low-income areas significantly more expensive than for those living in cities.

Under ECCC's proposed regulatory approach, the principal mechanism for ensuring compliance from heating oil primary suppliers will be to blend renewable diesel with heating oil. Since heating oil has low carbon intensity (CI) relative to other liquid fuels and much of the crude used to produce heating oil is sourced from outside of Canada, there is less opportunity for upstream reductions than with other liquid fuels. The 2030 target of 74 g CO2e/MJ is less than heating oil combustion emissions, meaning upstream efficiency improvements will be insufficient to meet the requirements. The only heating oil-miscible fuel that can also be stored outside in winter, as is often the case with heating oil, is renewable diesel.

Renewable diesel has a useful heat fuel cost of $65-82 per gigajoule (GJ) ($234-295 per MWh. In contrast, wood pellets, at $300-350 per tonne for residential sales, have a useful heat fuel cost of $20-24 per GJ. Wood pellets also have half the of default renewable diesel (29 g CO2e/MJ). Wood chips are half the carbon intensity of wood pellets which means, on an implied carbon price basis and assuming wholesale $0.75 per litre for heating oil, blending renewable diesel with heating oil has a fuel cost of $630/ per tonne CO2e to 884 per tonne CO2e. Switching from heating oil to wood pellets saves money on a fuel basis, in addition to avoiding taxes on heating oil. In this case, there is little reason to implement a complex policy such as the CFS.

Despite the billions of dollars invested in lignocellulosic liquid transportation biofuels, all technologies are still pre-commercial -- especially forest feedstock-based liquid transportation biofuels due to the recalcitrant structure of wood fibre. Co-processing of pyrolysis oil or biocrude in existing oil refineries at a meaningful volume will not occur before 2030. The forest sector represents over 75 pct of annually-available biomass resources in Canada and its exclusion from participation in the liquids class will dramatically increase the cost of fuel, especially in rural communities where wood chips and bioheat are a cost efficient and convenient source of energy. (Source: WPAC, Canadian Biomass, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 26 Aug., 2019) Contact: Wood Pellet Association of Canada, Gordon Murra, Exec. Dir., ; Environment and Climate Change Canada, www.canada.ca › environment-climate-change

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Clean Fuel,Paris Climate Agreement
Date: 2019-07-10
The CBC is reporting Progressive Conservative (PC) Party Leader and Prime Ministerial hopeful Andrew Scheer says a government led by him would scrap a "secret fuel tax" -- a plan by the sitting Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to improve fuel standards and cut emissions through regulatory changes that have not yet been finalized.

In addition to the existing carbon tax regime, the Liberal government aims to make the heating and transportation fuel supply cleaner to reduce carbon emissions and help Canada meet targets set under the Paris Climate Agreement.

According to a government backgrounder, fossil fuel suppliers will be able to meet the performance standard by "taking action themselves" to make fuels cleaner -- through improvements to the refining process, for example, or by purchasing credits from low-carbon-intensity fuel producers and other credit generators. (Source: CBC News, Various Media, 8 July, 2019)

More Low-Carbon Energy News Vehicle Emissions,  Clean Fuel Standard,  Paris Climate Agreement,  Clean Fuel,  

Jay Inslee
Date: 2018-12-14
In Olympia, Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee (DEM) has unveiled a plan that the governor claims would drive a dramatic reduction in the state's greenhouse gas emissions over the next 15 years.

Inslee's proposal is designed to accelerate the innovation and efforts already underway across the economy to transition to 100 pct clean energy, construct ultra-energy efficient buildings, establish a clean fuel standard, electrify the state's transportation system and phase down super-pollutants in certain products -- all of which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Washington state to 25 pct below 1990 levels by 2035. To achieve that goal, the state needs to further reduce emissions by nearly 16 million metric tpy, according to a release. The transition to 100 pct clean energy would place Washington among the first states to end all coal-fired electric power consumption by 2025, transition toward carbon neutral electricity in 2030, and lay the groundwork to eliminate all fossil fuels in electricity generation by 2045.

Inslee is also calling for a 40 pct increase in the state's Clean Energy Fund, a comprehensive clean energy and energy efficiency building package; a clean fuel standard; support for electric vehicles and EV charging infrastructure; and a reduction in the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) -- a super-pollutant that is thousands of times more damaging than carbon. (Source: Office of Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, PR, The Hill, 10 Dec., 2018) Contact: US Climate Alliance, www.usclimatealliance.org; Office of Washington Sate Gov. Jay Inslee, Communications Office, Tara Lee, (360) 902-4136, www.governor.wa.gov

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Ontario, E15
Date: 2018-12-05
The province of Ontario is touting its "Greener Gasoline" plan to move from a E5 blend to a E10 ethanol fuel blend by 2020. Key elements of the Greener Gasoline plan include: increasing renewable fuels content in gasoline to 15 pct as early as 2025; the increased use of renewable natural gas and other lower-carbon fuels will be encouraged; large emitters will be subject to emission performance standards; and a $350 million Carbon Trust Fund and a $50 million Ontario Reverse Auction Fund will provide financial assistance for emission reduction initiatives.

The plan builds on the amended Ethanol in Gasoline & Greener Diesel regulations that will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.

Download details of Canada's Clean Fuel Standard HERE. (Source: Prov. of Ontario, Farm Progress, 3 Oct., 2018) Contact: Advanced Biofuels Canada, Ian Thomson, Pres., (604) 947-0040, info@advancedbiofuels.ca, www.advancedbiofuels.ca

More Low-Carbon Energy News Advanced Biofuels Canada,  E15,  Biofuel,  Biofuel Blend,  

Advanced Biofuels Canada
Date: 2018-08-31
Reporting from Vancouver, Advanced Biofuels Canada (ABC), Canada's national industry voice for the low carbon biofuels necessary for Canada to successfully implement a proposed federal government Clean Fuel Standard (CFS), offers the following commentary by President Ian Thomson:

An average driver under BC's low carbon fuel standard has paid $16/year less than they would have paid for gasoline alone since 2010 (Navius 2018);

Carbon pricing can be effective in reducing industrial emissions, but is largely ineffectual on transportation emissions due to market failures (lack of competition), design failures (in the carbon tax systems), and the broad absence of practical fuel alternatives;

Existing provincial renewable and low carbon fuel regulations do not duplicate the CFS; to the contrary, compliance with them will do much of the work to ease the CFS requirement;

Provinces continue to assert their sovereignty over energy and climate regulation -- this refutes refiners' claims that the provinces should rescind their 'duplicative' regulations and be ruled by federal regulations (which they also oppose);

Provincial and federal fuel regulations have negligible actual overhead costs, in contrast to refiners' claims that the CFS will be costly to administer. Public filings by one large refiner with $4.5 billion of 2017 net earnings show its 2017 compliance and administrative costs associated with the BC low carbon fuel standard to be 0.009 pct of net earnings of $0.4 million;

Because imported liquid transportation fuels must also meet low-carbon content requirements, competitiveness issues for refiners relative to blending low carbon fuels into gasoline and diesel are addressed. This may not be the case for gaseous and solid fuels, or liquids used in petroleum refinery processes.

Modelling by a number of CFS stakeholders shows that a minimum of two-thirds of the compliance for the 2030 CFS target can be met with liquid fuels. This significantly lowers the potential cost of compliance with the gaseous and solid fuels CFS components for Canada's industrial sector. In addition, there is considerable positive economic growth that will be realized by investments in clean fuel production and use.

Transportation fuels make up 80 pct of the liquid fuels used in Canada, and their climate change emissions are rising. Many in the industrial sector see the rationale for Canada to largely follow the design of low carbon fuel standards successfully operating for almost a decade in British Columbia and in California.

Download the Canadian clean fuel standards regulatory framework HERE. (Source: Advanced Biofuels Canada, PR, 28 August, 2018) Contact: Advanced Biofuels Canada, Ian Thomson, (604) 947-0040, info@advancedbiofuels.ca, www.advancedbiofuels.ca

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Advanced Biofuels Canada,Environment and Climate Change Canada
Date: 2017-12-15
Following on our November, 2016 coverage, Environment and Climate Change Canada has released the design framework for the national Clean Fuel Standard (CFS). Key elements of the framework include:

The CFS objective is 30 megatonnes of GHG reductions annually by 2030;

The current federal Renewable Fuels Standard levels will be maintained, with replacement by the CFS over the longer term;

Separate carbon intensity reduction requirements will be established for liquid, gaseous and solid fuels;

With transportation fuels comprising 80 pct of liquid fuels, the effective partitioning of fuel types will ensure GHG reductions occur in the transportation sector. Some sub-fuel type grouping may be considered;.

Gaseous fuels may see a volumetric requirement or a hybrid approach;

Credit exchanges and other flexibilities to enable cross-sector compliance will be considered.

Advanced Biofuels Canada and other advocates have called on Ottawa to develop a Clean Fuels Strategy to ensure the success of the CFS. This multi-year initiative would support domestic production and distribution of low carbon fuels to allow the economic benefits of clean fuels to be realized by all Canadians. It would also address the effectiveness of complementary measures that, if well designed, will drive growth across the low carbon economy. Carbon pricing and fuel taxation are two areas where legacy policies and emerging rules can inadvertently discourage the production and use of clean fuels in Canada, according to the release.

Download the Canada Clean Fuel Standards regulatory framework HERE. (Source: Advanced Biofuels Canada, PR, 13 Dec., 2017) Contact: Advanced Biofuels Canada, Ian Thomson, (604) 947-0040, www.advancedbiofuels.ca; Environment and Climate Change Canada, www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change.html

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Clean Energy Canada
Date: 2017-11-10
In Ottawa, the Canadian federal government's plan to have national Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) regulations to help reduce vehicle emissions in place by mid-2018 is in doubt, according to Vancouver-based Clean Energy Canada. The CFS was supposed to start with consultations in the spring and then follow up with the framework this fall. The discussion paper came in February followed by discussion groups and consultations with other governments and industry, but Environment Minister Catherine McKenna will no longer commit to unveiling the framework before Christmas.

The Canadian CFS would require fuel producers to reduce the carbon intensity of their products and require the blending of ethanol, biodiesel and/or renewable diesel with petroleum-based fuels. The CFS The standard aims to cut 30 million tonnes of annual greenhouse gas emissions total by 2030, which is more than one-third of the emissions cuts predicted from the entire Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.

A CFS could add 5 cents to the price of a litre of gasoline in addition to the 11.6 cents a litre a $50 a tonne carbon price is expected to add. (Source: Clean Energy Canada, CleanTech Canada, Canadian Manufacturing, Others, Nov., 2017) Contact: Clean Energy Canada, Jeremy Moorhouse, Snr. Policy Analyst, (604) 947-2200, www.cleanenergycanada.org

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https://www.canada.ca/en/services/.../climatechange/pan-canadian-framework.html
Date: 2017-07-12
As part of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, the Canadian federal government announced plans at the end 2016 to develop a national clean fuel standard (CFS). This report addresses several issues related to applying a CFS to transport.

The report examines the potential for biofuels to contribute to transport decarbonisation, assess the potential for a CFS to be the key policy driving transport decarbonisation, and conducts a modeling exercise in comparing a highly flexible CFS with carbon pricing to drive transport decarbonization in Canada.

Access the full Driving Decarbonization: Pathways and Policies for Canadian Transport report HERE. (Source: Energy and Materials Research Group (EMRG) School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, June 29, 2017) Contact: Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, www.canada.ca/en/services/.../climatechange/pan-canadian-framework.html

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