Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces environmental project in Rivière-du-Loup under Green Infrastructure Fund

January 12, 2010

Investment to contribute to cleaner environment while creating jobs

RIVIÈRE-DU-LOUP, QUÉBEC – Prime Minister Stephen Harper is pleased to announce today that the government will fund a green project in Rivière-du-Loup, which will see the construction of a system to treat organic waste and convert it to biogas, a renewable fuel.  This project operates under an agreement-in-principle undertaken with the Government of Quebec relating to the Green Infrastructure Fund of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.
 
“We recognize the importance of supporting infrastructure projects that will boost the economy and create jobs for Canadians while promoting cleaner, greener living,” said Prime Minister Harper.  “Projects like the one announced today in Rivière-du-Loup are part of our strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, in so doing, combat climate change.”
 
The Government of Canada contribution for these projects comes from the nationwide Green Infrastructure Fund, consisting of $1 billion over five years, and is part of Canada's Economic Action Plan announced in the January 2009 budget.  This Fund supports sustainable energy generation and transmission, along with municipal wastewater treatment and solid waste management.
 
This is the first project to be funded in Quebec under the Green Infrastructure Fund, part of the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.  This fund provides for cost-sharing with the Government of Quebec and the cities and municipalities concerned.
 
The Rivière-du-Loup project involves the construction of a system to treat organic waste, almost all of which to date has been sent to landfills.  The technology converts organic waste to biogas for use as renewable vehicle fuel.
 
To learn more about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit http://www.actionplan.gc.ca/eng/index.asp. For more information on infrastructure investments, visit http://www.creatingjobs.gc.ca .
 
 


Backgrounder

CANADA’S ECONOMIC ACTION PLAN

CONSTRUCTION OF AN ORGANIC WASTE TREATMENT PLANT
 IN RIVIÈRE-DU-LOUP

The organic waste treatment plant slated for Rivière-du-Loup can also be described as an anaerobic organic waste digestion system or bio-methanization plant.
 
Anaerobic digestion takes place when organic matter decomposes without oxygen. The chief products of this process are carbon dioxide and methane gas.
 
The purpose of the project is to install an anaerobic organic waste digestion system that generates biomethane, a renewable fuel.  The biomethane will serve as a lower-cost alternate fuel for municipalities and businesses in the Rivière-du-Loup region interested in converting their vehicles.
 
The organic waste used in the anaerobic digestion process will be collected in “brown bins” from residences, factories, businesses and various types of institutions (cafeterias, grocery stores, food processing plants, wastewater treatment plants, slaughterhouses, restaurants, and waste grease collection and septic tank pumping services). 

It will be possible to treat nearly 20,000 tonnes of waste annually under this project. Other environmental benefits include:

• a significant reduction in greenhouse gases (approximately 7,455 tonnes of CO2 per year)
• the production of nearly 1.4 million cubic metres of green fuel, the equivalent of 1.4 million litres of diesel
• the ability to treat a wide range of waste (including slaughterhouse waste) that cannot be handled by other methods, such as composting
• the production of a high-quality, nitrogen-rich organic liquid fertilizer that will replace mineral fertilizer, reducing the leaching of nutrients

The project costs total $14,734,525.  The Government of Canada is contributing up to one-third of eligible costs, that is, up to $4,061,318, to the Rivière-du-Loup project.


Green Infrastructure Fund

Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the federal government will invest $1 billion over five years in the Green Infrastructure Fund (GIF).  This fund is intended to support sustainable energy generation and transmission, as well as municipal wastewater treatment and solid waste management.  GIF targeted investments are aimed at improving the quality of the environment and will lead to a more sustainable economy in the long term.
 
This fund will focus on green priorities, such as green energy generation and transmission, building and improving wastewater treatment systems, and improving solid waste management. Sustainable energy infrastructure, such as modern green energy transmission lines, will contribute to improved air quality and lower carbon emissions.
 
Eligible projects are those that promote cleaner air and water, as well as reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and that fall within any of the following categories: wastewater treatment infrastructure, green energy generation infrastructure, green energy transmission infrastructure, solid waste management infrastructure, and carbon transmission and storage infrastructure.
 
The $1-billion GIF will be allocated on the basis of merit to support green infrastructure projects on a cost-shared basis.  The Fund will focus on a few large-scale, strategic infrastructure projects.  The merit of the projects will be determined through assessment criteria such as eligibility, financial requirements and project benefits.