Calgary Herald

MORE CANOLA IN YOUR TANK?

Growers urge Alberta to increase proportion of biofuel in gas, diesel

- AMANDA STEPHENSON astephenso­n@postmedia.com Twitter: @Amandamste­ph

Alberta’s canola farmers are lobbying the province to mandate the use of more biofuels, a move they say would help the environmen­t and boost the domestic market for their crop.

The nearly eight-month-long spat between China and Canada over canola imports has illustrate­d the importance of diversifyi­ng the market for the oilseed, said Ward Toma, general manager for the Alberta Canola Producers Commission.

He said that canola industry representa­tives met earlier this week with provincial Environmen­t Minister Jason Nixon and Agricultur­e Minister Devin Dreeshen to try to sell them on the idea of increasing Alberta’s renewable fuel standard for diesel from the current requiremen­t of two per cent renewable content to five per cent.

“The troubles that we’re having overseas with China on the canola market really highlight the fact that we need to expand our markets,” Toma said. “Not only with other countries and other buyers — there are ways to increase demand right here at home. Increasing the availabili­ty of biodiesel from canola into the fuel pool is one of those places.”

Alberta’s renewable fuel standard requires commercial fuel producers and importers to blend renewable products into their fuels. By law, all gasoline sold in Alberta must meet a minimum annual average of five per cent renewable alcohol (such as ethanol), while all diesel sold in the province must contain at least two per cent biodiesel.

The products typically used to produce biofuel include used cooking oil, rendered animal fats, or oilseed crops like canola or soy. According to a white paper produced by the Canadian Canola

Growers Associatio­n, more than 90 per cent of Canadian canola production is currently exported. But if a five per cent renewable fuel standard was put in place across the country, 1.3 million additional tonnes (about six per cent of overall production) would be used domestical­ly instead of shipped overseas. It would also lead to new jobs on the Prairies in crushing and refining, and could reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year, the organizati­on said.

“Canada’s actually a laggard in using renewable content in diesel,” said Brian Innes, vice-president with the Canola Council of Canada. “We only use about a third of what the Europeans use in theirs. We’re at roughly two per cent (national average), the Europeans are at six to seven per cent, and the United States actually uses a lot more canola for biofuel than we do here in Canada.”

Not all provinces set their own standards for biodiesel. Those that don’t are governed by the federal standard, which requires the same two per cent renewable content as

Alberta’s legislatio­n.

However, some provinces impose even higher standards. B.C., for example, has mandated a four per cent biofuel compositio­n for diesel for some time now, while in October, Quebec announced it will require four per cent biobased diesel by 2025.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister promised during his recent re-election campaign to increase the mandated renewables content in diesel fuel from two to five per cent, a move that would make that province’s standard the highest in Canada.

Alberta’s renewable fuel standard is set to expire in January, which is why canola producers are hopeful the provincial government might use the opportunit­y to replace it with a more aggressive requiremen­t.

Bora Plumptre, a senior analyst with the clean energy think tank Pembina Institute, said the climate benefits of biodiesel are pronounced, with the average litre in 2017 in Alberta being around 80 to 90 per cent less carbon-intensive than regular diesel.

“Given the ongoing struggle of western canola farmers, who have lost something like 30-40 per cent of their usual demand due to the Chinese import ban, and given the clear need for regional economic diversific­ation away from oil and gas, I’d say that the provincial government should certainly explore whether there is an economic and environmen­tal opportunit­y to be had by increasing its current blending mandates,” Plumptre said.

Jess Sinclair, press secretary for Nixon, said the government will be extending the renewable fuel standard regulation when it expires, but declined to say whether the government has any interest in the long-term in increasing biofuel requiremen­ts.

“At this time, government is not mandating increased canola-based biofuel within the province’s diesel fuel,” Sinclair said in an email.

 ?? THOMPSON/FILES PETER J ?? “The troubles that we’re having overseas with China on the canola market really highlight the fact that we need to expand our markets,” Ward Toma, general manager for the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, says.
THOMPSON/FILES PETER J “The troubles that we’re having overseas with China on the canola market really highlight the fact that we need to expand our markets,” Ward Toma, general manager for the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, says.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada