Company scraps plan for biomass fuel plant in Kensington

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — The Town of Kensington is frustrated about losing out on a $150 million project which would have brought a woodchips-to-renewable diesel plant to the community.

The proponent, SustainAgro, would have processed 40,000 tonnes of wood chips annually to produce renewable diesel fuel; secondary marketable byproducts would have included biochar, wood vinegar and graphene.

The company expected to employ about 30 people initially. But somewhere along the way the project’s provincial environmental approval stalled and SutainAgro has since shifted its focus to Thunder Bay, Ont., as the frontrunner for its facility.

Kensington council expressed frustration at being warned off from doing business with SustainAgro by provincial officials for unspecified reasons. To date, the town has been unable to find out what those reasons were. SustainAgro CEO Joey O’Brian…“We have accomplished as much in three days in Northern Ontario as it took us in one year in P.E.I.,” wrote O’Brian.