Grainswest - Winter 2023

Winter 2023 Grains West 30 FEATURE Perry admitted being ahead of the curve has been economically challenging. His family’s facility would not exist without an initial 50 per cent capital grant from the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund, which is now Emissions Reduction Alberta. The bio-producer program introduced by the Notley government further contributed to its viability. In going the RNG route, 20 per cent of capital cost of the GrowTEC overhaul is connection to the grid. Perry believes such costs have limited biogas investment, but he envisions biogas plants as building blocks for economic opportunity. “They’re like distributed energy packs spread across the landscape.” The biogas sector has yet to receive sustained government support in Alberta. Programs tend to be one-offs. Without ongoing subsidies, high-value feedstocks are being lost to the U.S. where the return is more substantive, said Perry. Edgelow suggested Ontario has led the way in the creation of a streamlined regulatory process other provinces can emulate to encourage development. Incentives may also include funds for construction of biogas facilities and infrastructure projects such as feedlot renovations that support the collection of manure, he added. Various resources are available for prospective biogas entrepreneurs. While the Canadian Biogas Association advocates for the industry and calls on government to support stable RNGmarkets to foster growth, it also provides information for prospective entrepreneurs at farmingbiogas.ca and will soon publish a digestate management guide. “The growth for biogas in ag in Canada is only going to expand and grow,” said Green. “The future is very bright, but it will not be easy.” Earl Jenson is director of the bio- industrial services division of InnoTech Alberta. The Alberta Innovates subsidiary offers comprehensive startup assistance, system evaluation and design as well as training courses and manuals. Its pilot scale biogas equipment aids the development of new projects. While the performance of feedstock such as dairy manure is well understood, for new and untried sources, test runs on these systems are highly valuable, said Jenson. For instance, some feedstocks Skyline Clean Energy partners with Bio-En Services and Technology, which designs, owns and operates biogas facilities. These include a biogas plant in Elmira, ON, (pictured) and Lethbridge Biogas, which the partnership purchased in June 2022. Photo: Courtesy of Bio-En Services.