Edmonton to be site of world's first industrial scale municipal waste-to-ethanol facility

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[June 26, 2008]

Edmonton to be site of world's first industrial scale municipal waste-to-ethanol facility

(Canada Newswire English Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Attention News Editors

EDMONTON, June 26 /CNW/ - Edmonton will be home to the world's first industrial scale facility to produce biofuels from municipal solid waste. The City has signed a 25-year agreement with GreenField Ethanol, Canada's largest ethanol producer and Enerkem, a leading biofuels technology company.

The $70 million biofuels facility will initially produce 36 million litres of biofuels per year and reduce Alberta's carbon dioxide (CO(2)) footprint by more than 6 million tonnes over the next 25 years - the equivalent of removing 12,000 cars off the road every year.

"This facility is another fine example for the world that Alberta is a great place for companies to bring newly commercialized technology to the marketplace," said Doug Horner, Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. "All of the partners can be pleased that they are part of a facility that is taking a lead role in developing innovative technologies and making a real difference for the environment."

The City of Edmonton and the Government of Alberta through the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI) are contributing $20 million to the facility. The City of Edmonton will also contribute $50 million to a related processing facility and research facility. AERI's total contribution to all the components is $29 million.

"This unique partnership with private companies and the provincial government builds on our global leadership in municipal waste management," said Edmonton Mayor, Stephen Mandel. "It will enable us to make a noted contribution to reducing greenhouse gases and become the first major city in North America to achieve 90 percent residential waste diversion from landfill. We are also excited to be proceeding with the calibre of this partnership and look forward to seeing this facility on stream in the near future."

"This new facility will be a first for both the biofuels and waste management industries. This is the world's first agreement signed between a large urban centre and a biofuel producer to turn municipal waste into ethanol," said Vincent Chornet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Enerkem. "Edmonton is a pioneer in waste management practices and it is setting new standards for other municipalities. We are proud to be working with Edmonton, Greenfield Ethanol and the Government of Alberta through the Alberta Energy Research Institute as partners on this exciting project."

"This next generation biofuels facility will offer drivers a new choice in transportation fuels," said Donald Pierce, President of Greenfield Ethanol's Advanced Biofuels Group. "Greenfield is thrilled to be leading in the development of next generation ethanol along with partners Enerkem, the City of Edmonton and the Province of Alberta-world leaders in providing innovative technologies that help build a sustainable future."

This plant is the first to be announced by Greenfield Ethanol and Enerkem since the recent announcement of their partnership to jointly design, build and operate commercial next generation ethanol plants.

About Edmonton:

This is a city alive with energy and boundless opportunity - a growing economic powerhouse where business thrives and more than a million lives enjoy the freedom to explore, experiment, experience, excel and expect the most out of every day. A place like no other, Edmonton is filled with surprises great and small and a calendar packed with artistic, sporting, theatrical and cultural celebration.

Edmonton is the proud home of the University of Alberta for 100 years. www.100years.ualberta.ca

For more information on Edmonton, visit: www.edmonton.ca.

<<
Backgrounder

About Greenfield Ethanol
------------------------
- GreenField Ethanol Inc. (www.greenfieldethanol.com) is Canada's
leading ethanol producer. The company produces 350 million litres a
year of fuel ethanol at its plants in Chatham and Tiverton, Ontario
and Varennes, Quebec. Its largest plant to date, a 200 million litre
facility in Johnstown, Ontario, will be operational in December 2008.
Another plant is in development in Hensall, Ontario. GreenField is
actively involved in the development of biochemical process
technology to produce cellulosic ethanol at its state of the art
research facilities in Chatham, Ontario. The company is also working
with Enerkem Inc. to build thermochemical cellulosic ethanol plants.
GreenField's ethanol is available at more than 1,300 gas stations
across Canada.

About Enerkem
-------------
- Enerkem (www.enerkem.com) is a leader in the development and
production of next generation biofuels. It is headquartered in
Montreal, Quebec and has engineering offices in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Enerkem's gasification, sequential gas conditioning and catalysis
technology converts sorted municipal solid waste, agricultural and
forest residues into cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels. The
company has operated a pilot plant since 2003 and is currently
building another commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol production plant
in Westbury, Canada. The company is backed financially by Braemar
Energy Ventures, Solidarity Fund QFL and Rho Ventures.

About the City of Edmonton
--------------------------
- The City of Edmonton (www.edmonton.ca) is at the forefront of waste
management practices having established the leading Edmonton Waste
Management Centre (EWMC) and associated Centre of Excellence. The
EWMC is North America's largest collection of modern, sustainable
waste processing and research facilities. Facilities at the
233-hectare site include a Materials Recovery Facility, the Edmonton
Composting Facility, the GEEP Electric and Electronic Waste Recycling
Facility, the Clover Bar Landfill, a leachate treatment plant, a
landfill gas to electricity system, a construction and demolition
waste recycling operation, and a research facility. At the
development stage is the biofuels project and a paper production
facility.

About Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI)
----------------------------------------------
- The mission of the Alberta Energy Research Institute (www.aeri.ab.ca)
is to increase the energy industry's capacity to develop and adapt
innovative technologies that maximizes the value of Alberta's natural
and renewable resources. AERI develops and implements the energy
innovation strategy for Alberta and, in partnership with industry and
other government agencies, invests in collaborative applied research,
technology development and pilot demonstrations along the entire
innovation chain. AERI's six strategic programs areas are: Bitumen
Upgrading, Clean Carbon/Coal, Improved Recovery, Renewables, CO2 &
Emissions and Water Use.

AERI's investments are focussed on technology platforms that include:

- Carbon capture and storage
- Gasification
- Catalysis
- Hydrogen generation
- Separation technologies
- Advanced in-situ processes
- Advanced and nano materials

About Ethanol
-------------
- Ethanol is a renewable transportation fuel made from grains such as
corn and wheat, or from the cellulose fibres found in biomass
including agricultural, municipal and forestry waste. Ethanol is
affordable and offers unique environmental benefits. National
Resources Canada's GH Genius model shows that corn ethanol reduces
greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 40 to 60 per cent compared to
gasoline. Cellulosic ethanol has the potential to reduce GHGs by up
to 87 per cent according to the US Department of Energy's GREET
model. The federal government's commitment to requiring gasoline to
contain an average of five per cent ethanol by 2010 will bring GHG
reductions equivalent to removing one million cars from Canada's
highways each and every year.

For more information visit www.greenfuels.org.
>>

Connie Boyce, Waste Management, City of Edmonton, (780) 496-5407, connie.boyce@edmonton.ca; Melissa Armstrong, Greenfield Ethanol, (416) 304-1700 ext.8431, m.armstrong@greenfieldethanol.com; Megan Johnson, Weber Shandwick (for GreenField), (416) 642-7905, mjohnson1@webershandwick.com; Marie-H?l?ne Labrie, Enerkem Inc., (514) 875-0284 ext. 231; Donna Babchishin, Alberta Advanced Education & Technology, (780) 422-1562, donna.babchishin@gov.ab.ca

Copyright ? 2008 Canada Newswire Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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