$76.5M in funding for renewable fuel oil project

Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jim Carr, and Laurent Lessard, Quebec’s Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks, made the announcement on July 13 in Port-Cartier, Que.

The Port-Cartier plant will be the first commercial-scale facility of this kind in Quebec. The goal of the project is to convert forest residues into 40 million litres of renewable fuel oil per year. When upgraded into transportation fuels, this will remove up to 70,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions per year. Production of renewable fuel oil is set to begin in 2017.

The Government of Canada is providing $44.5 million for this project, through a $27-million investment from Sustainable Development Technology Canada and $17.5 million from Natural Resources Canada’s Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program.

“Today’s announcement is an important step in advancing Canada’s bioeconomy. By increasing the commercial availability of renewable fuel oil, which can be used as a clean replacement for fossil fuels, this project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs in the local economy. This investment is a shining example of governments working together to grow the economy and demonstrates our leadership in supporting this strong example of clean-technology innovation,“ said Minister Carr.

The Government of Quebec is contributing $32 million to the project, including $10 million from Investissement Québec. To ensure the fibre supply for the project, in March the Quebec Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks reserved 170,000 green tonnes of residues from government forests for the plant.

“Quebec works constantly to play a leadership role in forest innovation. Its financial support will grow the regional economy through the development of bioenergy produced with wood fibre from sustainably managed forests. Today’s announcement is perfectly aligned with the Government of Quebec’s commitment to support the emergence of a new industry, benefiting our workers, our regions and Quebec,” Minister Lessard said.

Through an alliance of three companies — Ensyn Bioenergy Canada, Arbec Forest Products and Rémabec Group — the private sector is demonstrating its substantial involvement with the confirmation of a $27.4-million investment.

The project’s renewable fuel oil is a cleaner alternative to conventional fossil fuels; it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 70 to 90 per cent compared with fossil fuels and has a multitude of uses, including for heating and the production of transportation fuels.