Husky Energy has finished construction and is headed for commissioning on the $200 million expansion of its ethanol plant at Minnedosa, Man.
Husky CEO John C.S. Lau and several provincial government officials made the announcement Tuesday in Winnipeg. “We look forward to going to Minnedosa and officially opening the plant when it reaches full production,” said Energy Minister Jim Rondeau in a release.
Full production is expected in early 2008.
Husky’s 25-year-old plant had capacity to produce 10 million litres of ethanol per year. With this expansion, the plant’s annual output at full capacity will increase to 130 million litres of ethanol, plus 130,000 tonnes of distillers dried grain with solubles (DDGS) for use as high-protein livestock feed.
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The province noted that Husky expects to use 350,000 tonnes of Manitoba-grown wheat and corn per year as feedstock for the plant, collecting its wheat from within a 160-km radius. (Minnedosa is about 220 km northwest of Winnipeg.)
The province noted that farm net income in the 160-km draw area may see an incremental impact of about $10.5 million per year, as more acres shift to winter and Canada prairie spring wheat, feed wheat prices rise and the cost drops for high-protein feed supplements.
Husky is now known to be paying local farmers at $6 per bushel for wheat for January delivery to the Minnedosa facility. The company also has a supply agreement with Viterra to supply half of the plant’s feed wheat.
The expansion is also expected to add five full-time jobs to the 35 now at the plant.
The province also expects a reduced financial outflow of up to $70 million from reduced imports of petroleum from outside Manitoba.
The province recently pledged to make ethanol a mandatory component of retail gasoline starting in 2008, with Manitoba distributors required to blend ethanol into their gasoline.
