Brooks out, Halifax in as biodiesel company alters its plans

By COLLIN GALLANT on January 10, 2020.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

An effort to build trash-to-diesel refineries in southern Alberta has reached the East Coast.

Cielo Waste Solutions, which plans to build a biodiesel plant in Medicine Hat, has added Halifax as a potential location but deleted Brooks, it announced Thursday as part of a joint announcement with investor group Renewable U.

The enterprise essentially sells franchise rights to employ a process that Cielo claims creates “renewable diesel” fuel from organic refuse, plastic, tires and even railway ties.

This week, the two parties signed an initial agreement to build a facility in Nova Scotia – at a potential cost of $50 million – that would be able market marine fuel from the facility, which could eventually employ about two dozen workers.

That appears to be about twice the size of facilities proposed at four Alberta locations, including the Hat, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge and Calgary.

The franchise fee for the Halifax venture will comprise a previously paid $250,000 fee for a proposed plant in Brooks. That plan has been terminated, the release states.

That narrows options for the initial Alberta plant, where the company will process a supply of rail ties that it has secured from Canadian Pacific.

Renewable U president Rapheal Bohlman said his group is pleased with progress and a decision could move ahead once processing and regulatory challenges are met.

“We are in the final stages of securing the land to build our first follow-on refinery to process scrap railway ties into high grade renewable diesel,” he stated. “We are looking forward to announcing with Cielo its location in the near future.”

Earlier this week, Cielo announced it was now operating its prototype refinery in Aldersyde, near High River, on a continuous basis, and that deadlines for the agreements for Alberta projects had been extended until March.

Under the agreements, Renewale U finances the construction while Cielo oversees completion and operations for a share of profits that is reduced during capital recovery period. After which, income is essentially split evenly. The company has advertised the process as a way for municipalities to tackle solid waste volumes while creating a marketable product.

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