Attendees gather for a ceremonial groundbreaking of the planned "Cielo Renewable Diesel Refinery" near Dunmore on July 8, 2021. The project is moving forward, says the head of the company, though the pictured billboard is now down.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Planning to build a renewable diesel refinery on land east of Dunmore is moving forward, according to the locally-based head of the company behind the project, and could make major strides this year.
That comes 18 months after a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Cielo Renewable Diesel refinery in Cypress County where investors were told ground-up railway ties could help the Canadian energy sector meet clean emission standards. The company, meanwhile, would earn premium profits from working with low-cost feedstock.
“There’s been a refocus on the commercialization on our first facility, which will be in Dunmore,” said Ryan Jackson, now the head of Cielo after the Medicine Hat businessman, who initially headed an investors group that secured franchise rights for the area.
“We’re currently completing work on a research and development facility at Aldersyde (near High River) … and that will give us the data that we need to build the (larger) commercial facility.”
In July 2021, an investors meeting complete with a host of government dignitaries took place at the site at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 41 north.
A major sign at the location, adjacent to the Alberta Transportation weigh scales and next to the Canadian Pacific Rail line, advertised the facility was “Coming Soon.”
That billboard is no longer there, leading to questions about the project from residents.
Jackson said Alberta Transportation only gave a temporary permit for the billboard, and it was removed rather than repaired when it was badly damaged by wind.
“Winds here don’t permit a sign like that to stand up for very long,” said Jackson, who is “very confident” the plant will move ahead in the short term.
“Proof of concept is in our rear view. This (R&D facility) will give us a lot more data points about how we run.
“It’s a smaller version of what we envision the full scale to be, and that will be complete in the first quarter of this year.”
Cielo has sold initial production run from the demonstration plant. That will test production modelling and process engineering for a final plant design that the company says will be replicated at future plants.
Medicine Hat was the focus of one of six regional agreements signed between Cielo and an Alberta-based investors groups known as Renewable U. Originally centred in Grande Prairie, it’s believed the core of new investors are located in southeast Alberta, and since it was formed in 2018, locations were it would fund construction for an increasing share of operating profits expanded to include Calgary, Winnipeg and Halifax.
Since local land was secured in 2020, Cielo founder and CEO Don Allan stepped down from the role, while Renewable U principles as well as Jackson moved over.
Over the same time, Cielo acquired developed land in Fort Saskatchewan to build a company-owned facility, but Jackson, now CEO of Cielo, says that land is being subleased and the focus is on Dunmore as the company’s initial facility.
The company will require environmental approvals for both the initial test plant at Aldersyde and the eventual production plant at Dunmore, which also must still receive sign off by municipal permitting processes.
Work would also see highway access to the site changed and approved by Alberta Transportation and a rail spur would also be built.
The company’s later notice to investors reveals a plan to secure final approvals and complete engineering in 2023. Construction on the Dunmore facility – initially proposed to be a 40-acre plant site with large tanks employing potentially 40 workers at full operation – could take two years, said Jackson.
The company has an agreement with Canadian Pacific to supply between 500,000 and 1 million ties per year that are replaced during annual track maintenance.
