ALDERSYDE, Alberta –Ted Menzies, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for Macleod, on behalf of the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, today announced that the federal ecoAgriculture Biofuels Capital (ecoABC) initiative would contribute $638,559 to help build a biodiesel plant in Aldersyde, Alberta. The plant has also received direct equity investment from farmers totalling $275,000.

"This announcement is another example of our government's commitment to deliver results to the agricultural community as well as taking tangible action for our environment," said Parliamentary Secretary Menzies. "With this ecoABC initiative, this new state-of-the-art biodiesel plant in Aldersyde will benefit farm families, and also help strengthen the local community and our agriculture sector."

Western Biodiesel Inc. is constructing and will operate Aldersyde's new $8 million biodiesel plant. The plant is expected to begin production this December and produce 19,000,000 litres of biodiesel annually.

"Through the federal ecoABC program, Western Biodiesel Inc. has been able to leverage farmers' investment almost three times," said Dean Cockshutt, Chief Executive Officer of Western Biodiesel Inc. "This financial support will help create another significant increment of Canada's biofuels production capacity."

The plant will use canola oil and rendered beef tallow to produce biodiesel and raw glycerine, a co-product that can be refined for various uses in the chemical industry or used as a suitable boiler fuel. The project will help Canada meet its target of an average of 2 per cent renewable fuel content in diesel fuel and heating oil by 2012 and broaden economic opportunities for Alberta and for Canada.

The ecoABC initiative was first launched by the Government of Canada in April 2007. The initiative is part of the comprehensive Government of Canada renewable fuels strategy that focuses on increasing the demand for renewable fuels through various means such as regulation, assisting farmers to enter this sector of the economy and accelerating the commercialization of new technologies.

• Federal Government invests in the Alberta biodiesel industry - Backgrounder