"This is North America's first unconditional commercial permit ever awarded to produce advanced biofuels from sorted municipal solid waste. This unprecedented project is set to change the dynamics of the waste and fuel industries by making waste - that would otherwise be landfilled - a resource for transportation fuels," said Vincent Chornet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Enerkem.
"The City of Edmonton is a leader in waste management and is now pioneering this solution which is to become a model for cities around the globe" The permit was granted by Alberta Environment under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act of the Province of Alberta. The regulatory process entails a series of meetings and studies as well as a consultation with the public. The project successfully met all required regulatory environmental standards including air emissions and was awarded a permit allowing for construction and operation. In 2008, EGAB entered into a 25-year agreement with the City of Edmonton to build and operate a waste-to-biofuels facility on municipal land and to receive the City's sorted municipal solid waste as feedstock.
The City of Edmonton will supply 100,000 tonnes of sorted municipal solid waste per year. The sorted municipal solid waste to be used is the end-waste after recycling and composting. These residues would otherwise be landfilled. Construction of the biofuels facility is expected to begin by the end of 2009, at a total cost of approximately CDN$70 million. The City of Edmonton and the Province of Alberta, through the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI), are contributing a combined CDN$20 million to its production. Upon completion, the facility will initially produce 36 million litres (9.5 million gallons) of ethanol per year, reducing Alberta's carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint by more than 6 million tons over the next 25 years - the equivalent of removing 12,000 cars off the road every year. The plant will also contribute to meeting the Canadian and provincial 5% renewable fuel mandate.
About Enerkem GreenField Alberta Biofuels Enerkem GreenField Alberta Biofuels (EGAB) is a limited partnership created to conduct the construction and operation of a municipal waste-to-biofuels plant using the Enerkem technology in Edmonton, Alberta. About Enerkem Enerkem (www.enerkemweb.wpengine.com) is a leading waste-to-biofuels and green chemicals technology company. It has developed a unique gasification, sequential gas conditioning and catalysis technology platform capable of using a mix of feedstock such as sorted municipal solid waste, forest biomass and agricultural residues. The company is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, and has engineering offices in Sherbrooke, Quebec. It has a pilot plant in operation since 2003 in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Enerkem's first commercial-scale plant is based in Westbury, Quebec. The company is also involved in the development of a municipal waste-to-biofuels plant in Edmonton, Alberta, and recently announced the development of a second-generation biofuels production facility to be located in Pontotoc, Mississippi. Enerkem is a private company financed by leading US venture capital firms Rho Ventures and Braemar Energy Ventures, the Canadian investment fund BDR Capital and the Company's management.
About Greenfield Ethanol GreenField Ethanol Inc. (www.greenfieldethanol.com) is Canada's leading ethanol producer. The company produces 550 million litres a year of ethanol at its plants in Johnstown, Chatham and Tiverton, Ontario and in Varennes, Quebec. Another plant is in development in Hensall, Ontario. GreenField is actively involved in the development of a biochemical process technology to produce cellulosic ethanol at its research facilities in Chatham, Ontario. The company is also working with Enerkem Inc. to build thermochemical cellulosic ethanol plants. GreenField's ethanol is available at more than 1,300 gas stations across Canada.