daneg
Veteran Member
Thought you guys would find this interesting.,..stock opportunity I wonder?
Work gears up on Vegreville biodiesel plant
Federal fuel standards create new demand
By Dave Cooper, Edmonton JournalMarch 19, 2010
Canada's largest biodiesel plant, which will crush 500,000 tonnes of canola seeds each year and supply about 25 per cent of national demand in 2012, should begin construction in Vegreville later this year.
The project is the first for Bio-Street, a Kelowna, B.C.-based firm that has been working for five years on the venture. But with the federal government demanding that Canadian diesel fuel must contain two per cent biodiesel by 2012, the project's timing suddenly makes economic sense.
"With these federal standards, that means there will be a demand for one billion litres. And some provinces are going further, with B.C. requiring five per cent biodiesel by 2012," vice-president Angela Reid told the Resource Industry Suppliers Association on Thursday.
"Our plant will produce 225 million litres, and will also produce canola meal, glycerine and potassium fertilizer."
Currently, Canada produces less than 150 million litres of biodiesel each year, with the rest coming from U.S. suppliers, which largely use soybeans rather than canola.
BioStreet has 34 hectares of land, and after 18 months of waiting expects provincial and federal regulatory approvals within weeks.
Reid said the firm has already completed most of its planning, and is set to begin detailed engineering in May, and break ground in the second half of the year. The key refining and crushing equipment will be coming from Europe.
"We have an aggressive schedule, but we have been told it is possible to have the plant completed by late 2011," Reid said.
That means all the utilities, roads and rail link, plus storage tanks, plant building and office must be built. The European components will be dropped into the site.
The refinery is from Austria's BDI Biodiesel, and will accept all grades of canola -- even poor-quality, damaged seed. The Austrian firm has 20 biodiesel operations around the world. The canola crusher comes from Belgium's DeSmet Ballestra, a world leader.
Reid said the BioStreet project aims to be the greenest in Canada.
"We want to be able to say our litre has a lower life cycle greenhouse gas emissions content, and gain a marketing advantage. "We will look for ways to do more, such as process the canola meal into fuel and create other products," she said.
Since the Vegreville site is twice the size needed for the plant, there will be room for other green industries that may appear in the future, she added.
BioStreet has raised $3.8 million for its initial work -- $3 million from the founders and $800,000 in government grants.
"We are now into our financial raise for the $210 million facility. We need to raise $126 million, and can carry 40-per-cent debt, to get this off the ground quickly," she said.
Northern Alberta canola growers can supply more than one plant, and there will be competitors. But Reid isn't concerned about market saturation.
"We could ship it anywhere. Canola makes an excellent biodiesel, and Europe uses a lot of it."
However, much of that is based on palm oil, which comes from plantations that destroy the tropical rain forest. New rules will limit those imports.
Work gears up on Vegreville biodiesel plant
Federal fuel standards create new demand
By Dave Cooper, Edmonton JournalMarch 19, 2010
Canada's largest biodiesel plant, which will crush 500,000 tonnes of canola seeds each year and supply about 25 per cent of national demand in 2012, should begin construction in Vegreville later this year.
The project is the first for Bio-Street, a Kelowna, B.C.-based firm that has been working for five years on the venture. But with the federal government demanding that Canadian diesel fuel must contain two per cent biodiesel by 2012, the project's timing suddenly makes economic sense.
"With these federal standards, that means there will be a demand for one billion litres. And some provinces are going further, with B.C. requiring five per cent biodiesel by 2012," vice-president Angela Reid told the Resource Industry Suppliers Association on Thursday.
"Our plant will produce 225 million litres, and will also produce canola meal, glycerine and potassium fertilizer."
Currently, Canada produces less than 150 million litres of biodiesel each year, with the rest coming from U.S. suppliers, which largely use soybeans rather than canola.
BioStreet has 34 hectares of land, and after 18 months of waiting expects provincial and federal regulatory approvals within weeks.
Reid said the firm has already completed most of its planning, and is set to begin detailed engineering in May, and break ground in the second half of the year. The key refining and crushing equipment will be coming from Europe.
"We have an aggressive schedule, but we have been told it is possible to have the plant completed by late 2011," Reid said.
That means all the utilities, roads and rail link, plus storage tanks, plant building and office must be built. The European components will be dropped into the site.
The refinery is from Austria's BDI Biodiesel, and will accept all grades of canola -- even poor-quality, damaged seed. The Austrian firm has 20 biodiesel operations around the world. The canola crusher comes from Belgium's DeSmet Ballestra, a world leader.
Reid said the BioStreet project aims to be the greenest in Canada.
"We want to be able to say our litre has a lower life cycle greenhouse gas emissions content, and gain a marketing advantage. "We will look for ways to do more, such as process the canola meal into fuel and create other products," she said.
Since the Vegreville site is twice the size needed for the plant, there will be room for other green industries that may appear in the future, she added.
BioStreet has raised $3.8 million for its initial work -- $3 million from the founders and $800,000 in government grants.
"We are now into our financial raise for the $210 million facility. We need to raise $126 million, and can carry 40-per-cent debt, to get this off the ground quickly," she said.
Northern Alberta canola growers can supply more than one plant, and there will be competitors. But Reid isn't concerned about market saturation.
"We could ship it anywhere. Canola makes an excellent biodiesel, and Europe uses a lot of it."
However, much of that is based on palm oil, which comes from plantations that destroy the tropical rain forest. New rules will limit those imports.
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