VANCOUVER — Biodiesel consumption is rising in Canada, but the vast majority of the alternative fuel is coming from the United States.
Data compiled by Waterfall Group, a biofuel consulting firm, shows the provincial and federal mandates are working.
Canadians used 111 million litres of renewable diesel in 2010 and 291 million litres in 2011. Data is not yet available for last year.
“It’s the first real window on the performance of the industry,” said Waterfall founding partner Doug Hooper.
Eighty percent of the renewable diesel is biodiesel and the majority of that is made from canola oil. The remainder is second generation biodiesel, known as hydrogenated or hydro-treated fats and oils.
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The firm forecasts 560 million litres of renewable diesel demand in 2013, with 350 million litres of that demand emanating from Western Canada.
The problem is Western Canada has only 31 million litres of biodiesel production capacity, which means the fuel will have to be imported from the U.S., where manufacturers are producing more biodiesel than what’s required for the U.S. mandate.
Hooper is the former chief executive officer of Canadian Bioenergy Corporation, which worked with Archer Daniels Midland in a joint venture to build a 265 million litre canola biodiesel plant in Lloydminster.
Canadian Bioenergy sold its minority interest in the project to ADM in December 2011.
Hooper said the ADM project, which will be the largest biodiesel plant in Canada, is proceeding as planned.
“It’s under construction and on track to meet its target commissioning in the third quarter of this year,” he said.
Kyoto Fuels Corp. is building a 66 million litre facility in Lethbridge. According to the company’s website, the plant is in the commissioning phase of developments.
