A groundbreaking project in southern Alberta aims to utilize manure from thousands of cattle to produce renewable natural gas and simultaneously store harmful carbon dioxide emissions. Taurus Canada Renewable Natural Gas Corp. revealed its plan to construct an integrated anaerobic digestion and carbon sequestration facility near Lethbridge, supported by substantial grants from the Alberta and federal governments.
Upon completion of the Central Farms facility, Taurus will convert 130,000 tonnes of manure sourced from local cattle feedlots into 360,000 gigajoules of natural gas annually, capable of powering approximately 4,000 homes or the entire Town of Coaldale. This initiative, part of six projects announced on Thursday, received a total of $28 million from Emissions Reduction Alberta’s Industrial Transformation Challenge.
With a $10 million grant from Alberta and $3.4 million from the federal Low Carbon Economy Fund, Taurus secured financing for the $85 million plant through a combination of equity and loans. Alberta’s Environment Minister Grant Hunter expressed support for local innovators, emphasizing the project’s benefits for the energy sector, the economy, and the environment.
The process of converting manure into power involves collecting livestock waste from multiple feedlots, pre-treating it, and subjecting it to anaerobic digestion to produce biogas and nutrient-rich digestate. The captured CO2 will be stored in a deep well, while the renewable natural gas will be distributed through a pipeline. Additionally, various forms of digestate will be generated for agricultural purposes in the region.
Ryan Kasko, CEO of Kasko Cattle Company, highlighted the project as a natural progression in utilizing food production for energy creation. He praised the government funding for supporting innovative technologies that could revolutionize agriculture in southern Alberta. Daryl Bennett, a surface rights advocate, commended the environmentally-friendly approach of the Taurus facility in managing manure from feedlots, emphasizing its potential to reduce carbon emissions and provide valuable fertilizer benefits.
