Expander Energy Inc. and Vanderwell Contractors (1971) Ltd, announce that their Slave Lake Biomass / Gas to Liquids proposed project received its environmental permit from Alberta Environment and Parks ("AEP") to establish Canada's first Biomass Gas to Liquids plant adjacent to Vanderwell's sawmill site in the Mitsue Industrial Park.
The plant will produce over 6.5 million liters per year of low-carbon intensity, clean-burning synthetic diesel fuel made from sawmill and forestry residuals. The AEP permit is the last significant permit required to enable the construction and operation of the Project.
The plant will use Expander's patented process and wood waste from Vanderwell's operations as feedstock to create a low-carbon diesel fuel that will meet Canada's new Clean Fuel Standard to 2030 and beyond. This is a significant step in meeting both the Provincial and Federal Government mandates that require diesel fuel to meet progressively more stringent Carbon Intensity limits.
The project is well under way with construction expected to begin in late 2021. The first phase is a commercial demonstration plant producing 6.5 million litres per year of SynDiesel® followed by a commercial expansion to over 20 million litres per year. The proposed 30-million-dollar Plant will create local construction jobs as well as permanent operating and maintenance jobs.
After a successful commercial demonstration, Expander and Vanderwell are planning to utilize additional wood waste in the area and to examine alternative feedstocks. These could include other forestry residuals, landfill material and municipal wastewater solids, and others. Expander anticipates that the Slave Lake area has a biomass availability that could support a facility producing 200 million liters of SynDiesel® per year.
