Central Albertans have been remarkably patient about the development of the garbage-to-energy Plasco project — and with good reason, based on the hope the technology represents.
But too many uncertainties remain about the project, which was originally forecast to turn 200 tonnes of Central Alberta waste into syngas and other reusable products, primarily construction aggregate.
The goals are lofty and worthy, but they are also proving costly and frustratingly out of reach.
The price tag for the local plant has been put at anywhere from $90 million to $100 million and Plasco Energy Group of Ottawa told the Central Waste Management Commission last week that it has recently been spending $500,000 a month on developing the local project.
Plasco also says it wants to handle up to 300 tonnes a day at the Central Alberta plant and that less than two per cent of the residual would end up in landfills; the syngas would be used to generate electricity through reciprocating gas engines.
The Horn Hill plant just east of Penhold would handle waste from the nine municipalities that are members of the Central Waste Management Commission.
A $10-million grant from the Climate Change and Emissions Management Corp. is being put toward the project, and $60 million in debt financing is in place.
Plasco has been gathering funding from the private sector as well. By last summer, Plasco had apparently amassed $270 million in financing. And last week, Plasco announced it had secured another $140 million in financing.
The cash is piling up, but two pieces to the puzzle are missing: federal government support for the project, and an indication by the government that the technology meets environmental standards.
And so Central Albertans wait, despite the obvious need to speed up the process. Area landfills are filling up quickly, and many municipalities don’t have long-term alternative plans if the Plasco project falls through. Where will the garbage go?
The Plasco project would go a long way to reducing the pressure on local landfills; and, ultimately, it could become the gold standard for other municipalities around the country: the ability to turn waste into a clean-burning commodity, and subsequently generate electricity for the municipalities, is extremely attractive, and will soon become imperative.
And the technology is not science fiction. Plasco has operated a 100-tonne-a-day demonstration plant at an Ottawa landfill site since January 2008. The results, for the most part, have been promising. Other companies are using similar technology around the world with success.
But Plasco, despite the early traction, seems to have stalled. Its Ontario licence lapsed earlier this year after what the company calls successful application and development of the technology. Plasco has now applied for an extension, but the Ontario Ministry of the Environment says it must go through an environmental screening process. That could take months, and it seems reasonable that no other province’s environmental watchdog would approve a process that the province of origin had not.
In Central Alberta, after more than three years of talk, startup still seems uncertain at best. Every projected milepost has been missed.
The contract the Central Alberta commission held with Plasco has lapsed, and although the project still remains first on the commission’s wish list, the days of tolerance seem to be dwindling. Last week, the Central Alberta commission and a Plasco representative agreed that the company had until May 31 to have its funding in place.
But what options are available to the commission if the Plasco project is delayed again?
The delay has hinged primarily on the availability of a federal Green Infrastructure Fund grant. At the moment, the target total is $17 million, although as recently as last summer, the goal was a $24-million grant.
It is typical of this whole project that the funding is as difficult to acquire as the dollar figures are fluctuating.
And it is frustrating that although Plasco seems to be able to convince private investors that it has workable technology, the federal government can’t — or won’t — be similarly convinced. Even the apparently vigorous lobbying of former Red Deer MP Bob Mills and current MP Earl Dreeshen (both Conservatives) has failed to bring the needed cash.
If Plasco’s first major project was somehow airlifted from the Conservative stronghold of Central Alberta to Quebec, the Maritimes or a crucial swing riding in Ontario, would the funding have been so difficult to acquire?
If it is true that valuable technology is being stalled by politics, there should be little reason to remain patient.
It is time that this project, and Central Alberta, be given a leg up by the federal government.
John Stewart is the Advocate’s managing editor.