Canada said it will provide $2.8 million for seven forestry projects in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, including work tied to mass timber construction, Indigenous forestry initiatives, manufacturing capacity, and export market diversification, according to Natural Resources Canada.
The largest award, $1,746,000 through the Forest Industry Transformation Program, goes to Vyterra Renewables Nova Scotia Ltd. to complete final engineering and permitting for a planned low-carbon fuel oil facility in Enfield, Nova Scotia. Vyterra Renewables said it aims to start construction after the engineering and permitting work is finished.
Vyterra Renewables said the planned facility would use forest and sawmill residues as feedstock, converting 140,000 green tonnes per year into 40 million litres per year of low-carbon fuel oil using its RTP® process. The company’s project description lists an estimated capital value of $177 million, around 30 new full-time jobs, and emissions reductions of up to 65,000 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year when operating.
In Fredericton, New Brunswick, the University of New Brunswick will receive $500,000 through the Green Construction through Wood program to design, build, and test a small container-type house using prefabricated wood components, including cross-laminated timber, glue-laminated timber, nail-laminated timber, and light-frame walls with wood fibre insulation. The project also includes a cradle-to-grave life-cycle analysis and a life-cycle cost assessment.
Three Indigenous Forestry Initiative projects include $296,920 for Ulnooweg Education Centre in Millbrook, Nova Scotia, to carry out a hemlock woolly adelgid treatment plan on the Asitu’lisk property and offer treatment services to other woodlot owners. Another $200,000 will fund the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick to run knowledge-sharing sessions to support land-use and forestry management plans, develop Traditional Land Use maps, and conduct species surveys with field-based ground-truthing.
A separate $50,000 award will support John W. Jamer Ltd. (Tobique First Nation) in Perth-Andover, New Brunswick, as it updates a business plan for mill upgrades and expanded capacity to supply kiln-dried lumber to Neqotkuk First Nation for housing.
Two Global Forest Leadership Program projects include $45,000 for the New Brunswick Forest Products Association Inc. (Forest NB) to conduct an export diversification study focused on non-U.S. markets, and $28,750 for the Maritime Lumber Bureau in Amherst, Nova Scotia, to create a technical trade and education information portfolio for international audiences.
