Business Business
Canada’s biodiesel production to double this fall
An artist’s conception of Canada’s largest biodiesel plant, set to open in November in Welland, Ont. The
plant will almost double nationwide capacity.
By Tyler Irving
Posted November 2012
The largest biodiesel plant built in Canada to date is set to open this month in Welland, Ont. In a stroke, the 170 million litres per annum operation will almost double this country’s current biodiesel production of about 200 million litres per year.
The plant cost approximately $25 million and will produce biodiesel primarily from soya oil, as well as some canola oil. “Ontario is a large grower of soybeans, so we have a good source in our close proximity,” says Barry Kramble, CEO of Great Lakes Biodiesel, the company founded in 2007 to build the facility. Kramble cites other advantages of the Welland site such as its links to road, rail and water transportation and its strategic location for both the primary Canadian markets in Ontario and Quebec and American markets to the south.
In July 2011, Canada’s government mandated that all diesel and home heating fuel must contain an average of 2 per cent biodiesel over the next reporting period. In addition to this, the federal government’s ecoENERGY program pays incentives for each litre of biofuel produced. Great Lakes Biodiesel expects to collect $63.5 million dollars from this program over the next five years. Still, there’s room for even more production in the future. “The mandate created an inherent demand of approximately 600 million litres of biodiesel per year,” says Kramble. “So there’s still a fair way to go in order for Canada to produce enough to support its own mandate.”
Photo credit: Great Lakes Biodiesel Inc.
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