The Alberta government has put up $4.46 million in grants toward Canadian Bioenergy Corp.’s planned biodiesel plant near Fort Saskatchewan, just northeast of Edmonton.
The company will get the grants through the province’s bio-refining commercialization and market development program, and through the bioenergy infrastructure development program, both run through the province’s $239 million Nine-Point Bio-energy Plan.
Several newspapers reported this morning that construction was set to begin today at Canadian Bioenergy’s 12.5-acre site in Sturgeon County, next door to Bunge Canada’s oilseed crushing and refining plant.
The planned facility, expected to be one of the largest in Western Canada when complete, is expected to have production capacity of about 114 million litres of canola-based biodiesel per year. The company said its design would also allow for future expansion that it’s hoped would double the current project’s size.
“These grants will increase investment and help offset some of the start-up costs companies may face,” said Energy Minister Mel Knight in a release.
The project has already received $300,000 for a feasibility study through the federal Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative (BOPI).
