SAINT-HYACINTHE, QUE. — A new biomethanation plant in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., the largest of its kind in Canada, will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and harness the potential of organic materials.
The Government of Canada has invested nearly $11.4 million in the construction of the facility through the Green Infrastructure Fund.
The Government of Quebec has invested $42.2 million in the project from the Program for Processing Organic Matter Using Biomethanation and Composting.
Completed under phase 2 of the project work, the new facility will be able to process organic material generated by local agri-food businesses, table scraps and green waste from 25 municipalities in the regional municipalities of Maskoutains and Acton, states a release issued by Infrastructure Canada.
The waste processed in the plant will be recycled and transformed into biomethane, a gas that can replace fossil fuels and feed into the Energir grid, a Quebec natural gas distributor, adds the release.
Furthermore, the biomass residue, or compost, can be made into mulch and fertilizer for farmland and urban green spaces.
More than 200,000 tonnes of organic material are processed annually in Saint-Hyacinthe.
“Saint-Hyacinthe is proud to be one of the first cities in North America to begin converting its organic materials through a process called biomethanation, a great example of a circular economy,” said Claude Corbeil, mayor of Saint-Hyacinthe, in the release.
“Residents and local agri-food companies bring their organic materials to the new biomethanation facilities at the treatment plant, which is then transformed into renewable natural gas (RNG). It is being used by the city to power its vehicles fleet and heat buildings.
“The RNG surplus is being sold to Energir, and the funds earned are put towards improving the services we provide our citizens. The anticipated returns related the biomethanation process for 2018 are estimated at $5.8 million.”
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