A proposed new bio-energy plant in Rimbey took a giant step forward last week with the announcement that a $5 million loan from the provincial government to the Aspen Bio-Energy Corporation has been approved.
The loan was one of 15 that were granted through the government’s Bio-refining Commercialization and Market Development Program (BCMDP) and the Bio-energy Infrastructure Development Program (BIDP). Aspen Bio-Energy Corporation is the principle investor in the project.
“It’s a huge step forward for the project,” said Rimbey Mayor Dale Barr. “There’s still work that needs to be done, but it certainly shows the provincial support for this new technology to come forward and our investors are very pleased to see this kind of support as it helps them work the numbers from their end.”
Residents who are expecting to see heavy equipment moving onto the proposed site – located just south of the Rimbey Motor Speedway location, will have to wait for a bit longer.
“This is just another step in the process. The securing of the funds was one of the key factors that had to be completed,” Barr said. “That now gives us enough strength to work with the technology provider and the investor to submit an environmental application which is actually the full design of the plant. That’ll happen over the next few months – part of the work is already started on it in anticipation that we would receive some support.”
Barr said the project was fortunate that the investor received such a substantial amount of investment capital in that it ensures the project will continue to move forward.
“It’s good news for Rimbey and for the project. It’s the maximum allowable amount of funding from the program and it was great news that we had it assigned to our project,” he said.
As for a specific time line as to when ground will be broken, Barr said for a number of reasons, it’s now in the hands of the provincial government.
“The investor doesn’t really want to put a time line on the project right now, because it falls back into the hands of Alberta Environment,” he said. “They have to approve the process and because it’s brand new technology, it’ll have to go through their evaluation and standards. We feel that it’ll meet all that criteria, but depending on how much detailed information they’ll be requiring will depend on how long it takes to go through that process.”