Posted at 4:00 p.m.
Thanks to an interview that the Minister of Economy and Innovation of Quebec, Pierre Fitzgibbon, granted to André Dubuc and Julien Arsenault, from The Press, we understand that to support the forest industry, the minister is relying heavily on biorefineries fueled by forest residues.
We could read a statement from him stressing that he was working on “a project to make biofuel which will use the residues lying around on the ground in the forests and make biofuel which will replace, for example, coal”.
In addition, the authors point out that the environment would be favorable to private investment, in the words of the Minister, stating that “industry makes money from softwood lumber. Integrated companies that have sawmills make a lot of money and are ready to reinvest”.
As representatives of the economic development of Port-Cartier, we are delighted with this vision for the future of the Minister of Economy and Innovation of Quebec.
The joint venture Bioénergie AE Côte-Nord (Arbec, Ensyn and Rémabec), recently created in Port-Cartier, is pursuing a strategy that already places it at the crossroads of its business choices and policy directions support for the structuring of the biomass sector in Quebec. A factory built at a cost of 110 million is complete, operational and capable of producing 40 million liters of second-generation biofuels. It represents a technological showcase not only for Port-Cartier, but also for Quebec and Canada.
This world-class plant, however, suffered the repercussions of protectionist measures by the United States, thus losing an important supply contract.
In addition, the sawmill was forced to cease operations in December 2020 due to the inability to sell its by-products (chips, sawdust and bark) due to the permanent closure of its main customer for woodchips. , the Baie-Comeau newsprint mill owned by Resolute Forest Products. Two hard blows for Port-Cartier and the entire Côte-Nord region. Note, however, that discussions are underway for a start. We are informed of the imminent reopening of the sawmill. This would be very good news for our economy.
Thus, through its spin-offs and impacts, both economic and environmental, the Bioenergy AE project challenges all stakeholders in the regional socio-economic environment and the government authorities responsible for energy transition policies. The temporary economic support required to make it a real opportunity to reconvert the regional development model remains eminently modest on the scale of the means generally mobilized to support industrial development. A revival of this sector of activity is essential.
Companies in Port-Cartier have therefore not hesitated to invest, in recent years, in this avenue of biofuel production with significant socioeconomic benefits. They made the decision to be on the leading edge of developments in the transformation of forest biomass and its integration into the energy paradigm of moving away from fossil fuels.
The North Shore, as a precursor, must become the home of the first industrial center for the production and use of large-scale biofuels in Quebec.
It can not only become a pilot region, but also and above all an enterprising region aiming to become the center of gravity of the new economic model for the valorization of biomass.
It demonstrates the buoyant nature of the biobased economy, and its influence can go far beyond borders. A biofuel production center for the North Shore can, in this way, aim to stand out on the world scale. By observing and anticipating the significant growth of the biofuels market in the coming years, other plants, similar to the one in Port-Cartier, could be built in the province and thus allow the sustainability of several forest municipalities in Quebec.
We would be honored to receive the Premier of Quebec accompanied by his Minister, Mr. Fitzgibbon, to illustrate our remarks by showing them our world-class facilities in Port-Cartier.