Oct. 23, 2009, Drayton Valley, AB – Scrap treetops and branches from forestry operations
in Alberta will soon be converted to electricity at the Drayton Valley Energy
Campus. The Alberta government is providing $25 million to develop a
waste-to-energy production facility in the town of Drayton Valley.
Minnesota-based Otoka Energy Corporation is receiving a $20-million grant from
Alberta’s share of the Canada ecoTrust for Clean Air and Climate Change. The project
also received $5 million in July 2009 through Alberta’s Biorefining
Commercialization and Market Development Program, a program administered by
Alberta Energy.
“The Town of Drayton Valley is delighted to have Otoka Energy Corporation as part of our
community,” said Drayton Valley Mayor Moe Hamdon. “We have a shared interest in
finding clean, renewable and rewarding energy solutions, and this project
complements our bio-mile development, an ongoing initiative to create
industrial development without waste.”
Otoka’s
Drayton Valley Energy Campus will convert an estimated 380,000 tonnes of wood
waste into electricity each year once the project is fully operational. The
project will reduce Alberta’s greenhouse gas emissions by about 400,000 tonnes
each year.
Otoka has
plans to develop its Drayton Valley operations in three phases. Phase one
includes the construction and operation of the Drayton Valley Energy Campus.
The total cost of this development is estimated at $100 million. The next two
phases are estimated to cost an additional $140 million and will add a
methanogenic reactor to produce natural gas and an upgrader to produce ethanol.
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