Matawinie, Québec Issued BDO Zone ‘A’ Rating for Woody Biomass

(Bioeconomy Development Opportunity Zone Initiative) ‘A’ Rating to Unlock Opportunities for Woody Biomass Utilization -- The Community Futures Development Corporation (SADC) Matawinie and Ecostrat are pleased to announce the issue of a new Bioeconomy Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone rating for woody biomass.

The Matawinie BDO Zone is rated ‘A’, extending over a 150 km driving distance from the Municipality and generating a surplus of 360,000 dry metric tons per year of woody biomass. The prestigious ‘low risk’ rating signals the region’s strong and well-established forestry supply chains, the resilience of which is strongly supported by over 20 sawmills in the Zone.

The Matawinie BDO Zone is the first BDO Zone rating in the province of Québec for woody biomass and supports the province’s efforts to become a global player in the clean energy transition. With three well-positioned bio-project sites featuring excellent infrastructure, the Zone offers an ideal location for new bio-based development projects that depend on reliable, long-term supplies of wood fiber.

“The forest industry is an important and vital economic sector of our Regional County Municipality (RCM). This BDO Zone rating on forest biomass is perfectly in line with our new agreement with the provincial government to maximize the potential of forest management. In that regard, we are actively collaborating with private forest owners to increase the volume of wood production from this source, as well as supporting secondary and tertiary processing of high-value-added products. Ultimately, we aim to develop a network of forest biomass boilers and encourage research and development of bioplastics. By combining these two initiatives, we believe that it will attract new partners to Matawinie for the innovation and development of our forest sector,” said Isabelle Perreault, Warden (Prefect) of the RCM Matawinie.

Jordan Solomon, Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative added, “We have a strong degree of confidence that Matawinie’s ‘A’ rating will function to attract attention from bio-based projects around the world. This will help Matawinie leverage local biomass surpluses to create economic value for the community, the province, and Canada.

As the BDO Zone Initiative continues to sweep across Canada and the whole of North America, we are grateful for support and funding from bodies such as the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), which helps pave the way for communities like Matawinie to participate in the global bioeconomy.”

To see the full BDO Zone Rating for Matawinie please click here, or visit www.bdozone.org.

About Matawinie

Located in the Lanaudière region, in the province of Quebec, Matawinie covers a vast territory of 10,460 km2 with a population of over 53,000 people spread across 15 municipalities and an aboriginal reserve named Manawan. As the 9th largest territory of a regional county municipality (RCM) in Quebec, Matawinie represents three-quarters of the Lanaudière region.

Matawinie territory harbors an unexpected diversity of industries and retail businesses, with over 3,500 companies operating within its boundaries. The economy of RCM Matawinie relies primarily on recreational tourism and resorts, forestry in the northern areas, and agriculture in the southern regions, including numerous poultry farms.

The heart of the BDO Zone is conveniently located approximately 90 minutes away from the cities of Trois-Rivières and Montreal. This strategic positioning provides easy access to maritime, airport, and rail transportation, facilitating the movement of goods. Furthermore, the south of the Lanaudière region and nearby major cities offer a sizeable labor pool, making it advantageous for businesses.

Matawinie’s forest industry has deep significance as an historical economic engine for the region. A well-established supply chain exists, with numerous sawmills supplying a variety of companies with sawmill residues, often through fruitful collaborations with neighboring regions such as Laurentides and Mauricie.

About Community Futures Development Corporation (SADC) Matawinie

The SADC Matawinie is a non-profit socio-economic development organization that has been dedicated to elevating its community for over 30 years in partnership with the federal government of Canada. The organization offers a diverse range of flexible financial products aimed at bolstering start-up enterprises, fostering business growth, and facilitating smooth business successions. This strategic financial support has played a crucial role in propelling entrepreneurial endeavors and nurturing economic prosperity within the region.

In addition to vital financial offerings, the SADC Matawinie actively contributes to the territory’s economic development by providing essential support and advisory services to both businesses and individuals, guiding them through various ventures and projects. Furthermore, the SADC Matawinie remains passionately engaged in realizing and promoting promising and innovative projects that hold immense potential for the community’s betterment. Through their unwavering dedication, the SADC Matawinie continues to be a driving force in shaping a vibrant and thriving socio-economic landscape for the region they diligently serve.

For more information about Community Futures Development Corporation (SADC) Matawinie, visit www.matawinie.qc.ca. The BDO Zone Local Development Leader (LDL) is Jonathan Landreville, General Director (jlandreville@matawinie.qc.ca).

About The BDO Zone Initiative

The BDO Zone Initiative is an economic development platform that enables local communities to deploy powerful economic development tools – BDO Zone Ratings – to drive, accelerate, and catalyze biobased investment and commercial project development in BDO Zones.

A BDO Zone rating is a standards-based technical risk assessment of biomass feedstock, supply chain, and infrastructure attributes of a region with respect to the feasibility and development potential of new biofuel, renewable chemical, biogas, bioproduct, or clean hydrogen plants.

BDO Zone ratings help regions and communities attract new biobased project development and participate in the growing global bioeconomy by demonstrating the maturity of local biomass supply chains and whether or not they are developed enough to support biobased manufacturing without excessive risk.

For more information on the BDO Zone Initiative, please contact info@bdozone.org. To view all current and upcoming BDO Zone designations, visit www.bdozone.org or check out the BDO Zone LinkedIn page for all news and updates.

About Ecostrat

The Advisory Group combines the BSCR Standards with powerful predictive analytics to understand and minimize supply chain risk. The Biomass Supply Group has 25 years of experience in sourcing and supplying more than 5 million tons of biomass feedstock for bioenergy, biofuel, and biochemical projects across North America.

Jordan Solomon is Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative and President of Ecostrat. He has overseen the development and operation of biomass supply chains for more than 5,000,000 tons of feedstock over two decades for bioenergy, biofuel, and biochemical projects.