VANCOUVER, B.C. – The B.C. Energy Plan will make the province one of the leading proponents of biodiesel in North America, requiring an average 5% blend with diesel fuel by 2010.

B.C. is poised to advance the domestic renewable fuels industry and is set to step ahead of the federal government’s commitment for a 2% renewable fuel requirement in diesel by 2012.

“Huge boost”

“This is a huge boost for biodiesel in Canada,” said Doug Hooper, CEO of Canadian Bioenergy, a Vancouver-based company with plans to build a biodiesel production facility in Alberta.

“We’ve been working with leaders in the biodiesel value chain for a long time, pushing hard to establish a national renewable fuel standard for biodiesel,” he added.

“The 5% commitment from the B.C. government is an important step, and shows real leadership in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and reducing air pollution.”

The provincial announcement will accelerate Canadian Bioenergy’s plans to construct a $65 million production facility near Edmonton in Sturgeon County, Alta.

Co-located adjacent to the Bunge Canada canola crushing facility, the plant will be capable of producing over 100 million litres of canola-based biodiesel annually.

“This plant will be the first of its kind in Western Canada and will position us to be a leading supplier in the western market,” Hooper stated.

With only two Canadian biodiesel facilities currently in operation, Canada’s domestic production capacity should increase substantially over the next five years to meet the forecast annual demand of 700 million litres under the federal and provincial mandates.

Positive feedback

“The feedback from our existing biodiesel fleets in B.C. has been very supportive,” said Ian Thomson, president of Canadian Bioenergy Corporation.

“Over the past year, several of our end-users, including the City of Vancouver and TSI Terminals (Vancouver Port), have been using blends up to 20%; a 5% mandate will give us the opportunity to introduce fleets across the entire province to the benefits of biodiesel.”

For more information on Canadian Bioenergy or biodiesel, visit www.canadianbioenergy.com.