$876M biofuel plant to be built in Varennes as Quebec aims for greener future

A new plant to produce biofuels from non-recyclable residual materials will be installed in Varennes, a city 30 minutes from downtown Montreal.

The green energy recycling plant is the first of its kind in the province of Quebec and is apart of the Recycle Carbone Varennes project by company Enerkem.

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The project is valued at $876 million, including $687 million for the factory alone.

Quebec Premier François Legault, Minister of Economy and Innovation Pierre Fitzgibbon, and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonatan Julien made the announcement on Tuesday, alongside federal ministers Catherine McKenna, Mélanie Joly and Pablo Rodriguez.

The project is receiving provincial and federal funding.

The Government of Quebec, through Investissement Quebec, is providing a loan of up to $80 million as well as an investment in preferred shares of up to $80 million for the project.

Minister Catherine McKenna, for her part, announced a federal investment of $74 million.

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In addition to the start-up of the biofuels plant, the project includes the installation by Hydro-Quebec of an 88 megawatt electrolyzer.

This new machinery is being touted as one of the world’s largest renewable hydrogen and oxygen production facilities leveraging Quebec’s green electricity.

Boies says the annual recurring economic benefits of the plant will be equal to $85 million for the province of Québec.

The project is expected to create more than 500 jobs during the construction of the plant and nearly 100 jobs during operation.