The Alberta government announced $4.7 million in funding for a new Lethbridge County facility that will turn agricultural waste, inedible animal fats and used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel and glycerin.
The $28.6-million Canary Biofuels facility will be the first of its kind in Canada, the government said in a news release on Tuesday, producing an estimated 70 million litres of renewable fuel.
Mike Ammeter, director of the Alberta Canola Commission, said there weren’t always opportunities to put lower quality canola to good use.
“You go back a number of years ago, and you didn’t have an option for off-grade canola,” he explained. “If it was a bad year, you might end up having to landfill it. (Those) days are gone, and I mean this plays right into that.”
The money is from the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction fund through Emissions Reduction Alberta.
“The facility will buy more than $375 million of local feedstock from farmers over the next five years, generating about $500 million in revenue and supporting up to 130 local jobs in fields like engineering, construction and transportation,” the government said.
“It will also cut about 224,000 tonnes of emissions each year — the same as reducing emissions from the electricity used by 41,000 homes.”
Biodiesel will have up to one-third the carbon intensity of petroleum diesel, the province said.
Lethbridge County reeve Lorne Hickey is looking forward to the opportunities this will bring to the area.
“It’s really good for the job market,” he said. “Overall, for the county, it’s just another positive thing. It’s great to have another industry come in.”
The facility is slated to open in mid-October.
– With files from Global News’ Eloise Therien