IFIT contribution to Millar Western clean energy project highlighted
While addressing forest industry stakeholders at the Council of Forest Industries convention in Prince George, Natural Resources Canada Minister Joe Oliver today highlighted investments made in five projects in Western Canada under the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program, including $6.75 million in funding previously allocated to the Millar Western bioenergy project in Whitecourt, Alberta.
The $42 million waste-to-energy facility, currently under construction at the Whitecourt pulp and lumber mill site, has also received $17.5 million in Alberta government grants, with Millar Western providing the balance of project funding. Scheduled for start-up in early 2014, the facility will use innovative technology — never before implemented in Canada or applied anywhere in a forest products setting — to generate energy from a pulp mill waste stream.
The new bioenergy plant is expected to improve both the environmental and the economic performance of the pulp mill, a key employer in the region. By replacing a portion of the mill’s electricity and natural gas consumption with renewable energy, the project will cut mill greenhouse gas emissions and lower input costs; it will also reduce fresh water use and further improve the quality of treated waste water discharged to the Athabasca River.
The IFIT program supports Canada’s forest sector in becoming more economically competitive and environmentally sustainable through targeted investments in innovative technologies. “Investments like these are helping to shape the forest industry of tomorrow,” said Minister Oliver. See the Natural Resources Canada news release for more information.