Vegreville Energy Project Overview

The Vegreville Energy biodiesel plant is BioStreet’s first industrial project and includes the design, construction and operation of a large-scale oilseed crusher and biodiesel refinery that will begin producing 225 million litres of biodiesel per year in 2011. The facility and the biodiesel it produces delivers an advantage over the competition when comparing energy balance and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and making it one of the cleanest, greenest and most efficient industrial projects in North America by integrating renewable energy technologies and LEED building criteria. These considerations will improve profit margins, reduce risk and enhance the attractiveness of the project to investors who understand the clean-tech sector.

To date, BioStreet and our engineering consultants, Trimark Engineering, have completed the conceptual development, pre-engineering feasibility, project scope and cost estimate, technology/process assessment, and the Design Basis Memorandum (DBM). Environmental permit applications have been submitted to both the federal and provincial government and approvals are expected in the summer of 2009.

The capital cost estimate of the project is $210 million. Significant seed funding and federal and provincial government grants have been raised to date. Ernst and Young’s London-based renewables group has been retained to structure the financing and debt to fulfill the capital needs of the project, and BioStreet is in discussions with private, institutional and strategic investors for the remaining equity in the project.

Left to right, Darrell Michaels, President of BioStreet, His Worship Richard Coleman, Mayor of Vegreville, Premier of Alberta, Ed Stelmach, and the Honourable Leon Benoit, MP for Vegreville-Wainwright, at BioStreet’s location announcement at the Vegreville Centennial Library.

Technology

BioStreet has combined the world’s leading crushing technology provider with the most efficient and flexible commercially proven biodiesel technology in the world.

DeSmet Ballestra will provide the canola crushing technology. The DeSmet Ballestra Group has sales and engineering offices in 15 countries and a representation network in another 22 countries. They have sold 5,700 plants in 148 countries worldwide.

BDI Biodiesel will provide the biodiesel refining technology. BDI has developed a process that yields up to 99% biodiesel, even when using low-grade, high FFA seed. In addition, the technology produces zero waste and is flexible enough to allow a variety of oil varieties, including up to 20% used cooking oil. BDI has built over 20 plants worldwide since 1982.

Supply & Offtake

The Vegreville cropping area has traditionally demonstrated not only one of the highest proportions of seeded acres sown to canola but also sustainable high yields and oil content and the draw area extends hundreds of kilometers North/South and an even greater distance East/West. By procuring locally produced feedstock, total lifecycle GHG emissions from the biodiesel we produce will remain low when compared to imported feedstock such as soybean and palm oil, and quality will remain high due to the superior cold weather properties of canola.

In the future, BioStreet plans to work with producers to influence tilling methodology and oilseed varieties developed through natural seed breeding techniques, to maximize yield per acre. These measures will further eliminate greenhouse gas emissions in the biodiesel production lifecycle while also reducing requirements for water, fertilizer and herbicides. At the same time, we will continuously explore next generation biofuel technologies that can be added or expanded at the facility.