[Biodiesel News] Biodiesel refinery plans closer to final

Biodiesel refinery plans closer to final

Redwater Tribune - Morinville,Alberta,Canada

Redwater Tribune — Sturgeon County residents had a look at plans for the biodiesel plant to be built on Highway 825 next to the Bunge canola crushing plant ...

 

Sturgeon County residents had a look at plans for the biodiesel plant to be built on Highway 825 next to the Bunge canola crushing plant at an open house Tuesday in Morinville.  

 

The plant, to be built in 2007 and operational in 2008,will produce biodiesel from canola oil produced by Bunge.

 

Biodiesel is a clean burning motor fuel that can be used by vehicles without engine modification if used at a limit of 20 parts biodiesel (B20) to 80 parts diesel  

The industry usually uses much less such as B2 or B5.  

 

“It is a well-proven fuel in other jurisdictions,” said Ian Thomson, president of Canadian Bioenergy.  

 

Brazil is the biggest biodiesel success story, with about 40 per cent of the country’s energy needs being met by biodiesel produced from sugar cane.  

Thomson said North America can’t hope to reach that but could reach 10 per cent of energy needs through biodiesel which would not only include vehicle fuel but also heating fuel.

 

When built, the Canadian biodiesel plant in Sturgeon County will produce 30 million American gallons of biodiesel each year.

 

But plant cost estimates are rising and the latest price is about $45 million.

“The costs are going up half a per cent a month,” said Thomson.  

 

There appears to be no shortage of investors, most of the money coming from the United States.  

 

“The Canadian investor isn’t as educated about biodiesel,” he said.

 

Some who are have a passion for it.

 

“We had a telephone call from a fellow in Ontario who wanted to come to work for us,” Thomson said, adding he just wanted to work in the industry.

 

He has similar feelings about the technology.  

 

“This is more than a job to each one of us.”

 

There are few biodiesel operations, one in Saskatchewan, and one in Elkford, British Columbia, just out of Alberta.

 

Canadian Biofuels Corporation has been importing biodiesel fuels from the United States but with Canadians becoming more aware of the advantages of the fuel, the market is increasing.  

 

The company began a pilot project in 2004 in the City of Calgary with one truck using the product, purchased from the United States, mixing blends to find the right one for the vehicle.

 

The following year the city began putting some garbage trucks on biodiesel and the use has grown in the city since then.

 

There is no competition in the marketplace as yet for the product, Thomson said.

“We are more worried about growing a market than we are about competition.”  

 

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Posted by Vince to Biodiesel News at 9/21/2006 12:03:00 PM