January 7, 2008

Manitoba

Multi-million dollar ethanol plant completed

Richard Gilbert

staff writer

A new Husky Energy is set to start production at recently completed ethanol production plant in Manitoba last month.

The company announced in November that construction of a $200 million new ethanol plant in Minnedosa, Manitoba is complete. The plant, which is currently in the startup phase, is expected to be in full production in early 2008.

When the plant is at full production, Husky expects to purchase 350,000 tonnes of grain a year from local producers.

The plant will have an annual production of 130 million litres of ethanol and 130,000 tonnes of a high protein feed supplement called Distillers Dried Grain with Solubles.

The new plant replaces an existing plant which produced 10 million litres of ethanol per year

“This new Minnedosa plant expands our ethanol production to meet consumer demand and is one of Husky’s strategies to provide quality fuel,” said John C.S. Lau, president and chief executive officer, Husky Energy.

“By constructing this plant, Husky Energy, together with the governments of Manitoba and Canada, will deliver economic benefits within the province while focusing on cleaner-burning fuels.”

The construction of the plant required over 1.1 million hours of employment and included more than 500 workers on-site during the peak of construction.

In addition, the facility will expand the workforce from 35 full-time to 40 full-time positions.

Husky also built a steam generation plant and made investments in road upgrades and additional water treatment facilities as part of the construction of this facility.

The new plant was constructed at an estimated cost of $200 million.

The plant replaces a 25-year-old, 10-million-litre-per-year facility.

“This new plant will aid Manitoba in its plan to expand the use of clean energy alternatives to reduce greenhouse gases and to bring new economic development to rural areas,” Science, Technology, Energy and Mines Minister Jim Rondeau said.

During the recent throne speech, the Manitoba government made a commitment to making ethanol a mandatory component of retail gasoline in 2008.

Manitoba’s fuel distributors will be required to blend ethanol into their gasoline, resulting in significant emissions reductions and a cut in greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of the provincial ethanol mandate, the blending of ethanol with gasoline will result in the elimination of more than 135,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases, said Rondeau. Manitoba is one of the first provinces to commit to mandating ethanol.

Along with wind, geothermal and hydroelectric power, biofuels are a key part of Manitoba’s energy-efficiency and clean-energy strategies to meet provincial Kyoto commitments as well as the major recommendations of the 2002 Climate Change Task Force report. Ethanol is a high-octane, alcohol based fuel additive produced from grain, including wheat. Ethanol-blended fuels offer several advantages over regular gasoline, including higher octane ratings, reduced tail-pipe emissions and protection from gas-line freezing.

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