Varme Energy Inc. and the City of Edmonton have reached an agreement for a green electricity and industrial heat generation project powered by city residential garbage.
Varme will build a privately funded and operated waste-to-energy facility located 40 kilometres north of Edmonton. It will be Canada’s first industrial-scale, waste-to-energy facility with carbon capture. The project is expected to create up to 300 jobs through construction and operations, with production starting by 2027.
“This is a major milestone toward the development of this new facility and an enormous step forward for waste diversion and climate change mitigation in Canada,” said Sean Collins, Varme Energy Canada’s CEO with the announcement on Jan. 25. “We are excited to help lead this charge by bringing practical and proven waste diversion and energy generation technology to Alberta’s capital region.”
The facility will combust garbage to produce steam for electricity and heat production. As well, it will integrate carbon capture and storage technology, planning to capture approximately 90 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions while also preventing methane emissions from landfill waste. Most of Edmonton’s residential waste that cannot be recycled or composted will be diverted from landfill and processed at the waste-to-energy facility.
“We are very pleased with this partnership and see it as a positive step in the City’s waste diversion and climate resiliency efforts,” said Denis Jubinville, branch Manager of waste services with the City of Edmonton. “As we continue our efforts to help our community reduce and recycle their waste, this alternative is expected to limit landfill use, lower regional greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce the carbon impact of our operations, including our long haul fleet.”
Varme Energy Inc., the first Canadian energy development company focused on waste to energy with integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS), is a subsidiary of Norway’s Varme Energy AS.
