GreenField, Enerkem to build waste to ethanol plant in Edmonton

Toronto-based Greenfield Ethanol and Montreal's Enerkem said they plan to jointly build a $70 million waste to ethanol plant in Edmonton, Alberta.

The 36 million liter per year plant is the first under a partnership announced earlier this year from ethanol producer GreenField Ethanol and biofuels technology firm Enerkem.

"This new facility will be a first for both the biofuels and waste management industries. This is the world's first agreement signed between a large urban centre and a biofuel producer to turn municipal waste into ethanol," said Vincent Chornet, president and CEO of Enerkem.

The project is getting $29 million in backing from the Alberta Energy Research Institute, with the city of Edmonton and the government of Alberta contributing the bulk of that cash.

Enerkem said the city of Edmonton would also contribute $50 million to a related processing plant and research facility.

"This next generation biofuels facility will offer drivers a new choice in transportation fuels," said Donald Pierce, president of Greenfield Ethanol's Advanced Biofuels Group.

Enerkem said the new facility would reduce Alberta's carbon dioxide footprint by more than 6 million tonnes over the next 25 years, which it said is the equivalent of removing 12,000 cars off the road every year.

The city of Edmonton has signed a 25 year agreement with GreenField Ethanol and Enerkem for the project, which Enerkem said would be the world's first industrial scale facility to produce biofuels from municipal solid waste.