EDMONTON - The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association lauded the ground breaking of Enerkem Inc.'s new waste-to-biofuels facility as a prime example of global Canadian leadership in the development of next generation biofuels.
At a ceremony attended by Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel, Quebec based Enerkem today broke ground on a new 36 million litre a year municipal waste-to-biofuels facility. It is the first facility of its kind in the world.
"Today, Canada breaks new ground in the development of advanced biofuels," said Gordon Quaiattini, President of the CRFA. "This plant is a concrete example of Canadian leadership in renewable fuels. This plant is good news for our energy supply, good news for the local economy, and good news for the environment."
Enerkem's advanced biofuels plant, which will be located in Edmonton, Alberta, is the world's first industrial-scale biofuels project to use municipal solid waste as feedstock. Using Enerkem's proprietary clean technology, the $CDN 80 million biofuels facility will produce enough biofuels to fuel over 400,000 cars per year running on a 5% ethanol blend. It will be built, owned and operated by Enerkem Alberta Biofuels, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Enerkem. The City of Edmonton and Enerkem Alberta Biofuels have signed a 25-year agreement to convert 100,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste into biofuels annually.
The advanced biofuels facility will create more than 180 direct and indirect jobs during the operations, construction and engineering phases. It will contribute to the federal and provincial Renewable Fuel Standards, taking effect in 2010.
Source: Canadian Renewable Fuels Association