Vancouver,
BC, March 14, 2008 - Canada's Environment
Minister John Baird is pleased to announce
that Iogen Corporation's application for
funding for Canada's first commercial scale
cellulosic ethanol production facility has
progressed to the due diligence phase.
"This is a good
day for Canadians and our environment,"
said Minister Baird. "Thanks to our
Government's allocation of $500 million
for next generation biofuels, Canada is
one step closer to making our country's
first full-scale cellulosic ethanol fuel
facility a reality. With technologies such
as this, Canada is well-positioned to be
a world leader in the renewable fuels industry."
The application, which
was submitted to Sustainable Development
Technology Canada (SDTC) under the recently
launched NextGen Biofuels Fund, is for a
cellulosic ethanol biorefinery to be built
in Saskatchewan. The application has now
entered the due diligence process. After
this process, SDTC will make a final decision
on funding.
"Cellulosic ethanol
has the potential to help Canada meet its
Renewable Fuels Standard in a sustainable
way," said Vicky J Sharpe, President
and CEO of SDTC. "With an abundance
of potential feedstocks that is unmatched,
Canada has a huge advantage in the race
to bring cellulosic ethanol to market."
Next-generation renewable
fuels are derived from non-traditional renewable
feedstocks, such as fast-growing grasses,
agricultural residues and forest biomass,
and produced through the use of new conversion
technologies. Such cellulosic feedstocks
consist largely of materials that are currently
considered waste, can often be grown on
low-grade soil, and have greater potential
for co-products.
"Today's announcement
brings us one step closer to making cellulosic
ethanol a commercial reality," says
Brian Foody, Iogen President. "Iogen
is a world leader in cellulosic ethanol,
with proven cellulosic ethanol production
experience since 2004. We believe that our
technology will help reduce greenhouse gas
emissions in the transportation sector,
provide economic growth opportunities for
farmers and increase energy diversity."
The NextGen Biofuels
FundT will support up to 40% of eligible
project costs for the establishment of first-of-kind
large demonstration-scale facilities for
the production of next-generation renewable
fuels. The contribution is repayable based
on free cash flow over a period of 10 years
after project completion. The funding process
for the NextGen Biofuels FundT uses a classic
Project Assurance Process approach based
on international best practices in deciding
whether to undertake the development of
large-scale, capital intensive, or high
capital expenditure, projects.
Iogen and its partners
Shell and Goldman Sachs are developing a
unique process that uses specialized enzymes
to convert plant fibre into sugars that
are then fermented and distilled to make
cellulosic ethanol.
The NextGen Biofuels
Fund T was announced by the Government of
Canada in Budget 2007 and launched by SDTC
on September 12, 2007. It is open for applications
at any time.
Eric Richer
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
Government Delivers
Details of Greenhouse Gas Regulatory Framework
OTTAWA, March 10, 2008
-The Government of Canada today published
details of the Turning the Corner regulatory
framework originally announced on April
26, 2007. The documents, posted to Environment
Canada's website, provide additional details
about how the Government of Canada will
move forward with its plan to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.
This plan includes mandatory
reductions for industry, along with additional
new measures to address two of Canada's
key emitting sectors: oil sands and electricity.
"Last April, this government made a
commitment to Canadians to cut our greenhouse
gas emissions an absolute 20% by 2020,"
said Canada's Environment Minister John
Baird. "Today, we are announcing the
details of those tough measures that will
put us on a path to meet our commitments."
Tough federal regulation
of industry's greenhouse gas emissions will
help achieve the Government's commitment
to a 20% reduction in Canada's overall emissions
by 2020, and will be the most important
driver of change for moving Canada to a
low-emission economy.
As announced in the
Turning the Corner plan last April, the
details of the plan include:
• Establishing a market price for carbon;
• Setting up a carbon emissions trading
market, including a carbon offset system,
to provide incentives for Canadians to reduce
their greenhouse gas emission.
In addition, today's detailed regulations
include new measures like:
• Setting a target that will effectively
require oil sands starting operations in
2012 to implement carbon capture and storage;
and,
• Effectively banning the construction of
new dirty coal plants starting in 2012.
"Our regulations
will apply to all big industry," said
Minister Baird. "From the oil industry
to chemical companies; from smelters to
pulp and paper mills, all big industry will
have to do their part."
In order to refine and
improve the regulatory approach, the Government
consulted extensively with environmental
groups, industry and other stakeholders
over the past year. This period of consultation
was important to ensure Canada's regulations
would result in real reductions of greenhouse
gases. The Government worked to accommodate
stakeholder views where reasonable, but
remained focused on the primary objective
of keeping its commitment to reduce greenhouse
gases.
As announced last April,
regulated industries will face mandatory
reductions that require companies to reduce
emissions 18 % by 2010 for every unit of
production. The details published today
specify how the targets will apply to each
industry sector, how the offsets and trading
systems will work and how credits will be
provided to companies that took early actions
to reduce their emissions.
We also believe more
can be done on electricity. The federal
government will establish a task force to
work with the provinces and industry to
reduce emissions even further by 2020, through
increased hydro, renewable and nuclear electricity
production and through further development
of the national grid. If necessary, regulations
remain an option.
Companies will be able
to choose the most cost-effective way to
meet their emission reduction targets from
a range of options: in-house reductions,
contributions to a capped time-limited technology
fund, domestic emissions trading and offsets
and access to the United Nations' Clean
Development Mechanism. Companies that have
already reduced their greenhouse gas emissions
prior to 2006 will have access to a limited
one-time credit for early action.
Proposed greenhouse
gas regulations are expected to be published
in the Canada Gazette later this year, and
the regulations finalized in 2009 to come
into force as planned on January 1, 2010.
Addressing industrial
emissions is just one part of the Government's
plan to reduce greenhouse gases and air
pollution. With a long-term goal that envisions
greenhouse gas emission reductions of 60
to 70% by 2050, Turning the Corner will
continue to evolve as new technology and
new ways of improving our environment are
discovered.
For more information
on what the Government is doing to reduce
greenhouse gases and air pollution, visit
www.ecoaction.gc.ca or call 1 800 O-Canada
(1 800 622-6232, or TTY 1-800-926-9105).
Turning the Corner
Éric Richer
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
