Waste-to-energy: Edmonton signs deal to have garbage burned for power at new $300M facility
The City of Edmonton has reached a deal with the local arm of a Norwegian company to have garbage from Edmonton households burned to create electricity.
The city announced the agreement with Varme Energy in a press release on Wednesday afternoon.
The 15-year deal will see roughly 150,000 tonnes of residential waste processed every year at a facility northeast of Edmonton once it is built and opened in 2027.
"This alternative is expected to limit landfill use, lower regional greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce the carbon impact of our operations," said Denis Jubinville from the City of Edmonton.
In an interview with CTV News Edmonton, Varme Energy Canada's CEO said burning garbage this way is better for the environment than shoving it in a landfill and has become popular in Europe for that reason.
"We are displacing the methane at the landfill and capturing our emissions for sequestration, making the energy we produce carbon negative," Sean Collins said.
"We get very motivated by the benefit to the environment of these projects."
The exact location is not yet public but the company's website lists a future project in Alberta's Industrial Heartland near Fort Saskatchewan.
The facility still requires several government approvals, but Collins is promising his plant will be a good neighbour.
"There's no smell that escapes the facility, based on intelligent design to ensure that there's no air transfer from inside the facility to outside," he said, adding that the footprint of the plant will be much smaller than renewable energy projects.
"In Copenhagen, their waste-to-energy facility is called Copenhill. They built an integrated ski hill on top of the waste-to-energy facility…you can literally ski down the exhaust stack."
Construction of the $300-million facility is expected to create about 250 full-time construction jobs and 25 permanent ones.
Collins said the city will pay Varme to get rid of the waste, which he believes will be at a lower overall cost than putting it in landfills.
The Edmonton-area facility will be the first of its kind in Alberta, Collins said, but Varme would like to build four or five more plants in the area in the future.
The City of Edmonton will continue to sort and process compostable and recyclable at its waste management centre.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
U.S. schools turn to artificial intelligence to spot guns as companies press lawmakers for state funds
Kansas could soon offer up to US$5 million in grants for schools to outfit surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence systems that can spot people carrying guns. But the governor needs to approve the expenditures and the schools must meet some very specific criteria.
Air quality advisories issued in 5 provinces, 1 territory
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
Just how bad are ultraprocessed foods? Here are 5 things to know
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
No refund for travellers who cancelled flight already scrapped by airline: regulator
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
Harry and Meghan's Nigerian adventure: traditional attire to warm welcomes
For her latest column on CTVNews.ca, royal commentator Afua Hagan writes about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent visit to Nigeria, calling it a 'deeply meaningful campaign' that was about aligning their ongoing efforts to foster mental-health awareness and promoting the Invictus Games.
'Oh my God, you're my brother': Man in his 70s discovers 6 unknown siblings
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Rates of cancer declining in Canada, but more work needed to save lives: projections
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
DEVELOPING Cohen expected to take the stand as testimony in Trump hush money case enters 4th week
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial is set to take the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.