The Alberta government announced it will use $4.7 million from the TIER fund through Emissions Reduction Alberta to build a facility in Lethbridge to produce renewable fuel. The Canary Biofuels facility, with an estimated worth of $28.6 million, will produce approximately 70 million litres of high-value renewable fuel. The facility is slated to be the… Read More
The Ontario government has announced changes to biogas rules in an effort to expand the biogas and renewable natural gas market in the province. The regulation changes will enable new on-farm biogas systems and expansion of existing systems to be approved more easily and at a lower cost, to help ensure that Ontario continues to… Read More
New Holland has announced it will launch its methane-powered tractors in Europe this year, and North America won’t be far behind. Mark Lowery, the company’s commercial marketing director, says U.S. and Canadian farmers can expect to see test and demonstration T6 model methane tractors later in 2021, with the first commercial sales targeted for late… Read More
With the expansion of domestic canola crush capacity in Western Canada, the term “renewable diesel” is being mentioned much more frequently. Many growers are familiar with biodiesel, but the two are different and not interchangeable. Although they can come from the same feedstocks, such as vegetable oil, the process of making them is different. Ian… Read More
Within the last month, three grain companies have announced plans to add nearly five million tonnes of canola crush capacity in Western Canada. Richardson first announced a doubling of production to 2.2 million tonnes per year at its Yorkton, Sask. site, then Cargill announced plans to build a new 1 million tonne plant at Regina,… Read More
Viterra has officially announced it will build a canola crushing facility at Regina, Sask. The company is currently in the feasibility stage of finalizing the plant’s capabilities and design, with an initial target to crush 2.5 million metric tonnes annually, which would make it the “world’s largest integrated canola crush facility,” according to the company. Viterra… Read More
A diesel-powered engine is pretty powerful and much cleaner running than it used to be, but over the years has gotten a bad name. Lately, both the Biden and Trudeau governments have been pushing the climate agenda, and, in regards to farm equipment, the push to biodiesel and alternative power sources is evident in their… Read More
It’s no secret the canola crush plant industry has been expanding in Western Canada, and as the biofuel industry continues its climb, it’s something we will likely continue to see. Brian Voth, founder of IntelliFarm, says that as demand rises across the market — and he’ll argue demand is never a bad thing — it… Read More
A large commercial company has a year to make good on a purchase of over 600 city-owned acres just north of Regina, Sask. Though the potential buyer is not officially named in city documents, a source close to the matter has confirmed it is Viterra. They indicate the plan is to use the site for… Read More
Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) has announced the acquisition of True North Renewable Fuel’s assets. The announcement follows FCL’s building a strategy of improving the environmental impact of their facilities and the transportation fuels they produce. Scott Banda, chief executive officer of FCL says they are excited about the purchase of True North’s assets as it is… Read More
The federal government has the right to impose a national price on pollution, says the Supreme Court of Canada. That means the government can set the standard by which the provinces deliver carbon pricing. Several provinces and producer groups disagreed with the carbon pricing scheme — and still do, in principle — but with this… Read More
Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau launched a $185 million climate-focused program today, called the Agriculture Climate Solutions program. Aimed at building “climate resiliency” within the agriculture sector, the ACS program is intended to be led by farmers and farm groups tasked with developing and deploying climate solutions tailored for each region,… Read More
A renewable fuel start-up with ties to a farm near Estevan, Saskatchewan, has provided new details regarding its plan to build a renewable diesel production facility in southern Saskatchewan. Covenant Energy says it plans to produce between 300 and 325 million litres of fuel from around 35 million bushels (roughly 800 thousand tonnes) of canola… Read More
David MacNaughton, who served as Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S from 2016 to 2019, says that while the Canada-U.S. leadership relationship is much improved under President Joe Biden, Canada still needs to proceed with caution. Yes, President Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have kicked off their relationship with friendly words of warmth and a… Read More
A national coalition of industry-wide farm organizations have launched the Agriculture Carbon Alliance (ACA). The goal of the alliance is to ensure that “Canadian farmers’ sustainable practices are recognized through a policy environment that maintains their competitiveness, supports their livelihoods, and leverages their critical role as stewards of the land,” the organization says. As of March… Read More