The Saskatchewan government won’t directly help Iogen Corp. bring a cellulosic ethanol plant to the province, no matter where it locates.
The company had intended to build at Birch Hills but just recently disclosed it is looking at the now-closed Domtar pulp mill near Prince Albert, about 25 kilometres away from Birch Hills.
Energy minister Bill Boyd recently said the role of government is to provide infrastructure.
It would also consider a co-generation deal but direct investment or grants are not in the mix.
Read Also
Record canola harvest expected
Anecdotal reports from agronomists, crop production advisors, landowners and grain industry reps, combined with provincial reports, indicates that canola yields could break the yield record set in 2016
“As a government, we are trying to accommodate them as much as we possibly can, just as we would accommodate any other company that might be interested in relocating to the province of Saskatchewan,” he said.
Iogen did not respond to a request for comment on the company’s plan.
In committee to discuss estimates for his ministry, Boyd said he couldn’t share much more.
“A lot of the information at this point in time is of a confidential nature,” he said.
Iogen was in line to receive up to $200 million from a federal fund for next-generation biofuels to build its plant. Cost estimates of the plant have ranged from $250 to $500 million.
Boyd said he wasn’t aware if anything had changed with regard to that funding.
“We understand that Iogen has made application for this and has been successful in this,” he said.
News reports have indicated Iogen could save millions by retrofitting the pulp mill instead of building new.
The former Weyerhaeuser mill closed three years ago and was acquired by Domtar in 2007.
A deal between the former NDP government and Domtar that would see about $100 million directly invested in the mill was scrapped when the Saskatchewan Party took office in November 2007.
