Williams Lake, B.C. – The University of British Columbia Faculty of Forestry’s Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Academy, based at the Alex Fraser Research Forest, has successfully wrapped up its June 2025 field training, bringing together participants from Ontario, the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia for an intensive, hands-on learning experience.
Over five days, participants developed the technical skills and strategic knowledge needed to implement biomass energy projects, especially in remote Indigenous communities, while deepening their understanding of forest management, wildfire prevention, and community resilience.
Through training on the CHP system, participants learned to operate and maintain biomass energy equipment, tracing the complete pathway from forest to fuel to community heat and power.
“When people come here, they don’t just learn about a machine,” says Mustafa Onder Ersin, Project Manager of the CHP Academy. “They learn how forests can provide sustainable energy, how to evaluate funding opportunities, and how to turn slash piles from wildfire prevention into clean power. That’s the kind of knowledge that builds long-term community resilience.”
Skills Participants Developed
- Forests & Forestry: Understanding how sustainable forestry supports long-term biomass supply and ecosystem health
- Biomass Supply Chains: From slash recovery and roadside processing to wood chip preparation
- Wildfire Prevention: Converting hazardous fuels from wildfire mitigation projects into CHP feedstock
- Fossil Fuel Displacement: Measuring diesel savings and greenhouse gas reductions with biomass systems
- Funding & Grants: Identifying Indigenous, provincial, and federal program opportunities
- Pre-feasibility Analysis: Assessing local resources, technical needs, and community readiness
- Site Planning & Integration: Designing CHP systems to support community infrastructure, such as greenhouses and district heating
Looking Ahead
Future CHP Academy sessions are scheduled for September, October, and December 2025, and January 2026. Tuition-free training, including accommodations, meals, and travel subsidies, is available for Indigenous participants.
By connecting bioenergy technology with forest stewardship and climate resilience, the CHP Academy provides communities with the tools to shape their sustainable energy future. For more information or to register, visit the Alex Fraser Research Forest website or contact chp.academy@ubc.ca.
About the Alex Fraser Research Forest
Part of UBC’s Faculty of Forestry, the Alex Fraser Research Forest spans nearly 10,000 hectares of crown forest in British Columbia’s Cariboo region. The forest serves as a living laboratory for education, research, and demonstrations of sustainable forest management practices.
About FPInnovations
FPInnovations is a not-for-profit organization that develops solutions to support the Canadian forest sector’s global competitiveness. With research facilities in Québec City, Montréal, and Vancouver, and technology transfer centres across Canada, FPInnovations delivers applied research, advanced technologies, and innovative solutions for all areas of the forest sector’s value chain.