Biodiesel plant may expand market for Ontario soy

Friday, September 27, 2013

The organization that represents Ontario’s grain and oilseeds farmers predicts provincial soybean growers will benefit from a newly completed biodiesel production plant in Welland Ontario.

Taking up over 16 acres, the Welland facility is the largest of its kind in Canada, and is owned and operated by Toronto based Great Lakes Biodiesel Inc (GLB). According to GLB’s website, the plant has a storage capacity of 8.5 million litres and can produce 170 million litres of fuel every year. The size of its terminal means it will have the capacity to ship 12 to 14 rail cars per day, the website says.

To make this biodiesel, the company will be source a significant portion of its feedstock from processors who use mainly Ontario grown soybeans, says Meghan Burke, Grain Farmers of Ontario's communications coordinator. The remainder will come largely from canola.

The finished facility comes after a federal mandate in July of 2011, which required that all diesel fuel contain two per cent biodiesel. GLB states on its website that it hopes the facility will supply a "significant percentage" of the biodiesel required by the mandate.  

The company further notes that by locating the facility in Welland, it can use both rail and roadways.

"GFO continues to support novel new uses for Ontario Grain," says Burke. "Our organization actively works with other stakeholders, like Soy20/20, to establish new market opportunities for Ontario grains." BF