Vegreville, Alberta Issued BDO Zone 'A' Rating for Wheat Straw
October 1, 2024
– ‘A’ Rating validates strong potential for investment in the Bio-Economy utilizing Wheat Straw in the Alberta HUB region –
The Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (C-SAF), Alberta HUB, Town of Vegreville, Ecostrat and the BDO Zone Initiative are pleased to announce the issue of an investment grade BDO Zone ‘A’ Rating for Vegreville, Alberta. Vegreville’s BDO Zone rating for 455,000 bone dry tons per year of wheat straw is the first rating in the Province of Alberta for agricultural residues and extends a 120-km drive-distance from the center point in Vegreville, AB.
Vegreville’s 'A' rating denotes high prospective viability of Feedstock Supply and Infrastructure and low expectations of default risk in the Zone. Capacity to support new biobased plant operations is strong, with skilled growers, high wheat straw yields, limited competition, and an underutilized fleet of equipment, offering an operational advantage. The 72-acre industrial park, with 17 serviced lots, zoned M2—Heavy Industrial District, is well-suited for bio-based projects seeking a reliable supply of wheat straw. The park actively promotes bio-based projects, receiving strong encouragement and support from municipal and provincial levels.
Canada's clean fuels sector offers a key opportunity to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets and transition to a low-carbon economy, while fostering investment, new economic growth, and supporting clean tech jobs across the country. Canada’s clean liquid fuel sector aims to increase production capacity from 3 billion litres per year to 8.5 billion litres by 2030. The Alberta HUB region has the potential of supplying up to 150 million litres/year of SAF, according to the Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels.
Over $6 billion in capital investment could generate 30,000 construction job-years, 10,000 permanent clean tech jobs, and $15 billion annually in economic output. The sector will also enhance agricultural, forestry, and rural community resilience while improving waste management.
Mayor Tim MacPhee, Town of Vegreville, stated, “The Town of Vegreville is exceptionally proud of the BDO Zone ‘A’ Rating. Positioned in the heart of Canada’s premier agricultural lands, offering some of the most affordable, shovel-ready industrial lots in the province, and home to InnoTech Alberta’s world-renowned agricultural research, this rating further affirms that the Vegreville region is primed for agriculture-related industrial development. We hope this rating demonstrates to potential investors what we, as Council, have understood for years: that Vegreville has the potential to become the smart-agriculture hub not only in Alberta, but across the entire country.”
Gerald Aalbers, Chair of Alberta HUB, Mayor of Lloydminster, stated, “This ‘A’ rating confirms the strength of the agriculture sector in the Alberta HUB region. Confirming a supply of wheat straw for potential investors in the bioeconomy demonstrates our promise in working with investors as we value their commitment to our region. We were honored to work with Ecostrat and the Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels in identifying and assessing one of the highest wheat yielding areas in the Country, the Alberta HUB region.”
Geoff Tauvette, Executive Director, C-SAF, stated, “While there are a variety of feedstocks that can produce SAF, many are on a medium-to-long term horizon to develop at-scale in Canada. Therefore, the immediate sourcing and use of agriculture residue feedstock, like wheat straw, is necessary to build our SAF supply chains today. Canada’s policy and programming should always be looking ahead and considering the long-term options that can support lower carbon intensive SAF production via processes like gasification and alcohol to jet. We must capitalize on every available avenue, and Vegreville, Alberta now presents a prime opportunity to accelerate the growth of our domestic SAF industry.”
Jordan Solomon, Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative, stated, “Decarbonization of the Canadian airline industry is absolutely vital to our clean energy goals. Canadian leadership in this sector is achievable by leveraging the enormous surpluses of sustainable Canadian biomass. The BDO Zone Rating for Vegreville will draw attention to an optimal area for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) development in this country.”
To see the full BDO Zone Rating for Vegreville, Alberta, please click here, or visit www.bdozone.org.
BDO Zone project development support:
Bob Bezpalko
Executive Director Alberta HUB
bobbezpalko@albertahub.com
780-614-3715
Alan Peranson
Director of Business Development
BDO Zone Initiative
alan@ecostrat.com
833-311-4236
About the Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (C-SAF)
The Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (C-SAF) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate the production and use of SAF in Canada by catalyzing a SAF ecosystem and regional value chains, promoting public policy, strategies and a roadmap, acting as a neutral and balanced technical expert, and engaging its members, and government and non-government stakeholders on SAF issues. C-SAF was created by a consortium of 60 domestic, international and cargo airlines operating in Canada who own and operate aviation fuel storage and distribution facilities at 11 international airports across Canada. C-SAF is comprised of 120 members who represent key industry leaders that are committed to advancing SAF in Canada including airlines, fuel and feedstock suppliers, technology providers, OEMs, airports, academia and others.
About The BDO Zone Initiative
The BDO Zone Initiative certifies regional readiness for bio-based manufacturing, creates global connections with project developers, and ignites an influx of clean energy opportunities.
A BDO Zone rating is an internationally recognized standards-based technical risk assessment of biomass feedstock, supply chain, and infrastructure risk with respect to the development potential of new biofuel, renewable chemical, biogas, and bioproduct plants. Investment grade ratings attract new bio-based manufacturing plants to the areas where they are most likely to succeed-- and create jobs.
For more information on the BDO Zone Initiative, contact info@bdozone.org. To view all BDO Zone ratings, visit www.bdozone.org. Check out the BDO Zone LinkedIn page for news and updates.
Jordan Solomon is Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative and President of Ecostrat (www.ecostrat.com). He can be reached at jordan.solomon@ecostrat.com. Ecostrat is the North American leader in biomass due diligence for biofuels, renewable chemicals, biogas, and bio-product project development and finance.