A new renewable diesel facility could be coming to Prince George.
It would be Canada’s first and would be created by Tidewater Midstream at the PG Refinery.
“Tidewater has chosen to develop the proposed facility integrated with the existing Prince George Refinery in order to minimize the environmental footprint by taking advantage of existing logistics and utility infrastructure as well as the skilled workforce at the refinery,” said Tom Hems, Tidewater’s Director of Refinery Economics and Investor Relations.
Tidewater says in an investor presentation that demand for renewable diesel right now is 8.4 billion gallons per year, and expects that to grow to 18 billion gallons per year by 2040.
Another presentation notes that vegetable oils, animals fats, and used cooking oil are some of the resources they’d be using to create the diesel.
“The project will convert 100% renewable feedstock into high-quality renewable diesel that is fully compatible with conventional diesel engines. The renewable diesel will have a carbon intensity approximately 80 – 90% lower than conventional diesel and will be primarily supplied in Prince George and Central BC, leading to significantly reduced GHG emissions from diesel consumption in our region,” said Hems.
“The finished renewable diesel will also be suitable for cold weather operation in Northern BC, which is not the case with lower quality biodiesel,” he added.
The BC government is looking to create more renewable diesel production in the province, aiming for 650 million liters by 2030.
Tidewater predicts that this project would cover about 25% of that demand.
The additions to the PG Refinery to make this project reality would include a gas-fired reformer heater, two gas-fired process heaters, one boiler, six storage tanks, and an emergency flare stack.
If the project gets the ok from City Council it’s slated to be running by 2023.