The C$70 million biofuels facility will initially produce 36 million liters of biofuels per year and reduce Alberta’s CO2 footprint by more than six million tonnes over the next 25 years, the equivalent of removing 12,000 cars off the road every year.
The City of Edmonton and the government of Alberta, through the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI), are contributing C$20 million to the facility.
The city will also contribute C$50 million to a related processing facility and research facility. AERI’s total contribution to all the components is C$29 million.
Vincent Chornet, president and CEO of Enerkem, said: This new facility will be a first for both the biofuels and waste management industries. This is the world’s first agreement signed between a large urban centre and a biofuel producer to turn municipal solid waste (MSW) into ethanol.