Green Impact partners to build $1.2 billion renewable biofuel facility

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Green Impact Partners (GIP) plans to purchase 52 acres of bare land from the city at the southeast corner of Stoney Trail and Peigan Trail to develop into a future energy park.

Jesse Douglas, CEO of GIP, said it is home to the largest carbon negative renewable natural gas project in North America – an innovative venture that connects Alberta's agriculture and energy sectors.

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Farmers today are faced with Grade 3 residual wheat, caused by too much rain, hail, snow or other unregulated conditions, that must be disposed of. About 11 to 13 percent of wheat produced in Canada each year does not meet Grade A standards, meaning it is unfit for human consumption. GIP buys low-grade wheat, providing rural wheat producers with about $150 million annually to produce ethanol and renewable natural gas.

The wheat is weighed, stored and ground into a coarse meal before being processed into ethanol, which is transported to fuel blending facilities in Alberta for distribution across North America.

Further processing produces natural gas that is transported to local utilities through the local gas distribution network. Another by-product at the end of the biological process is high-protein animal feed. Aerobic digestion tanks act like a cow's stomach, significantly reducing methane in feed, which is an added benefit to our environment.

Hence, the farmer wins on both sides of production.

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Working with a team of architects, engineers, planners, environmentalists and landscape architects, GIP's large-scale plant will be a major showcase of technological ingenuity in the production of renewable fuels.

Douglas said it was great working with the city; Subject to obtaining all building permits, construction is expected to begin within 120 days of obtaining all necessary permits. He believes the Future Energy Park will be the first integrated bio-fuel facility of its type, using highly efficient gas-fired cogeneration technology to produce electricity, steam and hot water for use at the site.

The cogeneration unit will be equipped with two gas turbines, two heat recovery steam generators and two steam heads. It will have a capacity of 30 MW, and the rest will be supplied to the local power grid.

The original plant design includes 12 digestion tanks, a cogeneration building, a water treatment plant and an ethanol plant, as well as trucks, grain silos, a CO2 storage building and a natural gas pipeline.

It is estimated that 800 people will be needed during the 24 months of construction, and 100 direct and indirect jobs will be created to support production. Douglas and his leadership team at Green Impact Partners headquarters will be located at 11^th Avenue SW

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Based in Calgary, GIP is an international company with a growing portfolio of renewable natural gas and clean bioenergy projects representing more than $2 billion in capital expenditures over the next three years. Aimed at creating a sustainable future and an inclusive planet through clean energy development, it has a milk-to-pipeline renewable natural gas plant in Weld County, Colorado, and has announced another similar project in northwest Iowa.

According to Douglas, plans are in the early stages to build a second large plant in Alberta that will use manure to be turned into fertilizer.

“The culmination of nearly two years of technical and environmental expertise – extensive consultation and interaction with local stakeholders and local communities – will leave an indelible mark on the province's energy landscape,” says Douglas. The $1.2 billion renewable biofuel facility at Future Energy Park will provide significant income tax and property tax revenue to the province and city once operational.

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Notes:

Mountain Warehouse has opened its newest Canadian store on Banff Avenue, the third in its expansion plans for this country, following stores in Richmond and Kingston earlier this year. Spread over two floors, the 6,980-square-foot space features men's, women's and children's apparel, as well as footwear and accessories.

Founded by Mark Neill in 1997, Mountain Warehouse is the UK's largest outdoor retailer, with 240 stores in the UK and over 350 worldwide, serving more than four million outdoor-loving customers a year.

David Parker's columns appear regularly in the Herald. Read his columns online at calgaryherald.com/business. He can be reached at 403-830-4622 or by email at [email protected].

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