University of British Columbia launches training program to support Indigenous communities’ energy transition

In Canada, the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Forestry’s Alex Fraser Research Forest (AFRF), in partnership with FPInnovations, is launching the Community Bioenergy Systems Training Program, a new training program designed to help remote and Indigenous communities transition from diesel-based energy to sustainable, wood-based biomass power.

AFRF and FPInnovations built a biomass Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant in Williams Lake, B.C., and will start offering training using their system in the new year with support from Natural Resources Canada and the Province of British Columbia. The new program trains participants to operate this type of power plant, manage woody debris supply chains for power and heat generation and develop other wood-based bioenergy systems, enabling them to return to their communities and play an active role in transforming local energy infrastructure.