Quesnel, British Columbia Issued BDO Zone ‘A’ Rating for Woody Biomass

May 13, 2024

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(Bioeconomy Development Opportunity Zone Initiative) A’ Rating to Support New Markets for Forest Residue -- The City of Quesnel, Foresight Canada and Ecostrat are pleased to announce the issue of an investment-grade Bioeconomy Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone ‘A’ rating. The Quesnel BDO Zone encompasses a 120-km drive distance from the center point in the City of Quesnel, BC, and is the first ‘A’ rated BDO Zone in British Columbia for Forest Residues.

The Quesnel BDO Zone features robust feedstock supply chains and infrastructure supported by an experienced forestry workforce. The Government of British Columbia along with a network of dedicated organizations and stakeholders are committed to integrating forest residue recovery into pre-existing value-added supply chains.

Jordan Solomon, Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative stated, “As British Columbia’s first ‘A’ rating, the Quesnel BDO Zone is capitalizing on an opportunity to transform their presently underutilized forest residue resources into a meaningful expansion of the value-added wood products industry.”

Byron Johnson, City Manager, City of Quesnel stated, “The BDO Initiative will help Quesnel start utilizing the types of low-value residual fibre that is often piled and burned. The large piles that are left in the forest not only increase risk of wildfire for our community, but this wood could be used for products or energy production. We are hoping to attract investors with fresh and innovative ideas to turn this low value waste into products that can be used in Quesnel, the Cariboo Region, and beyond.”

Erin Robinson, Forestry Initiatives Manager, City of Quesnel stated, “The BDO Zone will help us create more elegant supply chains by creating products from underutilized forest waste streams. This will help to reduce fuel loading in the forest that contributes to forest fires and help to sustain the forest industry for future generations”.

For more information aboUt BDO Zone Rating for Quesnel, British Columbia please click here, or contact info@bdozone.org.

About the City of Quesnel

Situated in the central interior of British Columbia, Quesnel is a vibrant community at the confluence of the Quesnel and Fraser rivers. Located on Highway 97, the major north-south corridor in BC and only 120 km away from Highway 16, the major west-east corridor from the Prince Rupert port to Alberta and beyond, Quesnel is accessible by both road and rail. Over 23,000 people call the Quesnel area home, enjoying the lakes, rivers and forests that surround the community. With affordable real estate, short commutes, and excellent recreation amenities, Quesnel’s workforce can experience a balanced lifestyle.

Quesnel is built on the traditional territory of the Lhtako Dene Nation and the area holds significant historic and present value for the all of the neighbouring First Nations including: Lhtako Dene, Nazko, Kluskus, and ?Esdilagh Nations. In addition to significant archaeological, cultural, and spiritual sites, this area harbours important areas for fishing, hunting, and gathering. The area is also important to all of the surrounding communities, both First Nation and non-First Nation, for economic development projects that align with the broader provincial (and global) goals of reconciliation, sustainability, and the reduction of GHG emissions.

Quesnel is one of the most forestry dependent communities in the province, with ~2,500 direct jobs dependent on the sector and is the home to one of the most integrated concentrations of wood products manufacturing facilities in the world, including many best-in-class milling and processing operations.

For more information about the City of Quesnel, visit www.quesnel.ca.

About Foresight Canada

Foresight is enabling Canada to become the first G7 country to reach net zero. By working with a network of diverse stakeholders and rights holders to commercialize clean technology, we are positioning Canada to become a global leader in the future economy. We accomplish this through several avenues, including working with the City of Quesnel as part of our BC Net Zero Innovation Network (BCNZIN). The BCNZIN initiative creates working groups in the forest bioeconomy, mining. water, and transportation industries in BC to tackle large sectoral challenges. Through identifying key issues and creating manageable step-based recommendations, we are setting up BC for the future, reducing GHG emissions, prioritizing knowledge sharing, and adding necessary capacity to keep working towards project goals.

For more information about Foresight Canada, visit www.foresightcac.com.

About The BDO Zone Initiative

The BDO Zone Initiative certifies regional readiness for bio-based manufacturing, creates global connections with project developers, and ignites an influx of clean energy opportunities.

A BDO Zone rating is an internationally recognized standards-based technical risk assessment of biomass feedstock, supply chain, and infrastructure risk with respect to the development potential of new biofuel, renewable chemical, biogas, and bioproduct plants. Investment grade ratings attract new bio-based manufacturing plants to the areas where they are most likely to succeed– and create jobs.

For more information on the BDO Zone Initiative, contact info@bdozone.org. To view all BDO Zone ratings, visit www.bdozone.org. Check out the BDO Zone LinkedIn page for news and updates.

Jordan Solomon is Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative and President of Ecostrat (www.ecostrat.com). He can be reached at jordan.solomon@ecostrat.com. Ecostrat is the North American leader in biomass due diligence for biofuels, renewable chemicals, biogas, and bio-product project development and finance. READ MORE

On August 8, 2024, Ecostrat Inc. and the BDO Zone Initiative, in collaboration with TheDigest, hosted the BDO ZoneCONNECT webinar, highlighting two investment grade Woody Biomass BDO Zone communities in Canada: Quesnel, British Columbia, rated 'A' for 100,000 oven dry tons per year. BDO ZoneCONNECT Webinar | August 8, 2024 | Quesnel, British Columbia

Summary of Presenter Remarks

Peter Wolf, Project Director, Ecostrat:

• "Quesnel has an established forest products industry with 8 large saw mills and 4 pulp mills with a combined intake of over 10 million tons of wood fiber."

• "There are a number of sites in the region given the history of production. There is also access to a rail spur on site and all the utilities you would require to develop a new project."

Amy Reid, Manager of Economic Development & Tourism, City of Quesnel:

• "Brownfield sites like the former saw mill site have connections already to water and sewer."

• "We have a long history in forestry so we have a strong workforce with experience on the land base."

Erin Robinson, Forestry Initiatives Manager, City of Quesnel:

• "Quesnel is one of the most forest-dependent communities in BC. We have one of the most integrated concentrations of wood product manufacturing facilities in the world."

• "There is a lot of opportunity for the woody fiber that we currently consider to be waste."