High-tech finesse expands capability to do more with less
Albertans are embracing a circular economy, a business framework that reduces waste, pollution and energy use while reducing reliance on new resources. Some of the technology required to push the needle toward the circular economic model already exists — but Alberta businesses are pushing the limits of zero waste operations using high-tech control systems.
For example, West Coast Reduction Ltd. (WCRL) operates three zero-waste rendering plants in Alberta — in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge — which primarily serve the beef and pork industry. Once edible protein has been prepared for market, the company applies heat to transform the inedible 40 to 50 per cent of the livestock into usable products: fats and oils to be used as feedstock for biofuels, protein meal for animal and pet food, and raw material for fertilizer.
“It’s essentially an industrial-scale, high-tech kitchen,” says Jared Girman, director of government relations and strategic initiatives with WCRL. “By optimizing the system, we can sell 100 per cent of what we process and reuse all of the water we extract in our processing.”
WCRL is currently looking to produce its own fuel onsite from a range of sources, including manure, used cooking oil, restaurant grease and meat trimmings.
“That would make our operations energy neutral,” says Girman.
Innovators in Alberta’s agricultural sector are working toward similar goals. The mission statement of the Perry Family Farm, located just east of Lethbridge, is to “produce perfect potatoes.” But its long-term goal is to demonstrate leadership in sustainable wealth creation by integrating agriculture and energy production.
Its GrowTEC operation features an anaerobic digester, commissioned in 2014, which harnesses bacteria to break down organic waste to produce biogas. That gas fuels a combined heat and power unit that has generated more than 4,000 megawatt hours of electricity each year since 2016.
“In farm country, we can utilize organic feedstock ranging from potato cull to manure, not only from our own farm, but from the surrounding area,” says company president Chris Perry, who operates the farm with his brother.
In the process, the farm reduces the production of greenhouse gases, achieves energy independence, generates heat to purify potato wash water and creates fertilizer to nourish the soil.
The Perry farm is looking for partners to help optimize the tech behind the system to create a replicable and exportable model for agriculture.
However, as carbon credits increase in value, the GrowTEC business model is attracting additional attention.
“Adding up the number of calls we’ve made in the past eight years to potential customers for carbon credits, we’ve seen that many calls returned in just the last six months or so,” Perry says. “Our operations are just a small part of the renewable energy equation, but we believe we’re developing a made-in-Alberta success story.”
This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division.
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home.
She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market.
The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.
Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.
Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.
The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.
The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.
The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.
The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector gained 6.7 per cent to total $8.6 billion in July as most refineries sold more, helped by higher prices and demand.
Chemical product sales rose 5.3 per cent to $5.6 billion in July, boosted by increased sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.
Sales of wood products fell 4.8 per cent for the month to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since May 2023.
In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent in July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.
“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.
Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.
But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.
Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.
“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.
“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.
A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.
It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.
More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.
“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.
In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.
“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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