Municipal District of Greenview and County of Grande Prairie, Alberta
The Municipal District of Greenview and County of Grande Prairie, Alberta BDO Zone for Woody Biomass is rated ‘A’.
Rating Issue Date: October 18, 2023.
'A' ratings denote 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 considered strong.
Greenview / Grande Prairie, AB holds an investment-grade BDO Zone ‘A’ Rating for Forest residuals, Urban wood waste. Issued in Oct 2021, the rating certifies approximately 470,000–666,000 gt/yr of reliable, low-risk biomass feedstock available within a Spans a radius of 120 km centred around three key points: Grande Prairie, the Greenview Industrial Gateway (GIG), and the Hamlet of Grande Cache.
A ‘A’ rating is an investment grade rating, signalling a reliable, low-risk feedstock supply. It signals to developers, lenders, and investors that Greenview / Grande Prairie, AB’s feedstock supply has undergone rigorous, standardized due diligence across 100+ risk indicators, the same framework applied to every BDO Zone across North America.
Every BDO Zone Rating assesses a region across three dimensions, mapped as expanding radii around a candidate site.
- Feedstock surplus: Data indicating at least 50,000 tonnes per year of excess feedstock available to support typical intake of new biofuels manufacturing plants.
- Supply chain strength: Evidence supporting long-term commitment to supply both quantity and quality by local farmers, forestry companies, food waste generators, haulers and municipalities.
- Sound infrastructure: Suitable transportation, logistic, operating and supporting infrastructure to meet the requirements for new facility operations.
Assets & liabilities
- 470,000-666,000 green metric tonnes per year of forest residues are estimated to be produced annually given the historical timber harvest levels
- Forest residues currently do not have established markets, and they are mainly piled up at the roadside of the logging operations and burned
- Strong forestry and wood industry sectors with a long history of stable performance and co-existence
- Established Sustainable Forest Management Practices dictated by the Government of Alberta and third-party Sustainability Certification Schemes
- Incredible advantage in offering a closed-loop industrial system to the energy sector seeking low carbon solutions, providing the key infrastructure including access to natural gas, water, electricity, an integrated transportation network, and the ability for carbon sequestration in a carbon capture hub
- The supply chains are underdeveloped for forest residues and require capital investment to scale up (both logistics equipment and the supporting infrastructure such as forest roads)
- New business relationships need to be established between the biomass project developers, tenure holders, harvest groups, and logging companies. If a significant increase in demand for forest residues occurs, the bioproject proponents likely need to resource their trucks and drivers without dipping into existing contractor pools
Infrastructure & sites
- The Process-in and Exploration Centre, a pre-designed industrial park, provides a host of resources, including operational process water access, full industrial service by ATCO Electric and CN Rail, as well as a direct connection to the TC Energy Main Distribution Line, situated merely 650 meters away. It is strategically located adjacent to CNRL and ARC Resources Gas Plants
- This site also offers a solution for carbon dioxide sequestration, incorporating a dedicated carbon capture hub. Its infrastructure facilitates efficient transport of low-cost natural gas feedstock to market
- Greenview's Environmental Services Department oversees both the capital construction and daily operations of the region's water, wastewater, and solid waste systems. However, due to the size and population density variations within Greenview, service provisions may vary by location
- In terms of potable water supply, each lot owner will need to independently manage their water source, as the Developer will not drill any water wells onsite. Any required water wells must comply with the Alberta Water Act
- For sanitary sewage collection, all systems will utilize sewage holding tanks. It falls on individual lot owners to oversee their sewage collection and disposal
- Given the property's slight slope, drainage naturally flows from southwest to northeast. A stormwater pond will be set up as a public utility lot, accessible via the internal road
- Electrical services will be managed and distributed by Atco Electric as per the Developer's request, while Atco Gas will handle natural gas distribution for the proposed properties
- TELUS Communications will be the preferred service provider for communication services within the plan area
- Emergency services will rely on the resources available in the MD of Greenview, with fire protection services being the responsibility of the Municipal District
Contacts
