BioFuels Journal

CGF to Build Ninth Largest Biofuel Plant in the World in McLean, Saskatchewan

Regina, SK—Canadian Green Fuels announced April 25 that it has achieved a major milestone in the development of its Bio-Oil/Biofuels plant in Saskatchewan.

On Monday April 21st the Town of McLean held a general information session for residents and interested individuals with senior executives from Canadian Green Fuels.

The information presented the opportunity to the town, discussed spin off opportunities and consulted with residents on the future of economic development for the area.

“We have a philosophy of communication that is inclusive and transparent' says Chief Development Officer Troy Metz “and we wanted to bring that to the Town and its residents and have them participate in meaningful discussions on where their town is going and how we can work with them in their economic development.”

He adds “we were very surprised at the outpouring of support and very humbled when they formally welcomed us to their homes and their community” At one point in the meeting residents thanked CGF for considering this a partnership between two groups and using the “we” term rather than us versus them approach.

“Our town like many others in Saskatchewan is looking for innovative ideas and new developments to keep these smaller centres viable into the future.” says Cliff Ebenal Mayor of McLean, “with the change in economy and a new drive in government its a great experience to have businesses come to us and say 'we are interested in your community.'”

The town residents spoke of various opportunities from a gas station, to restaurants and services that can be provided for the anticipation of traffic to and from the plant and the addition of 35-55 new employees.

“It's our hope that many of these new employees will come from the local population at McLean” says Chief Executive Officer, Michael Shenher “we plan on working hard with the town and the residents to develop an HR strategy that we can all sustain into the future.”

At the conclusion of the meeting a straw vote was taken with the Mayor, Council and approx. 150 community members of the town and area and they unanimously supported a proposal to situate a bio-diesel / bio-oil plant in McLean.

“This means that our process can now move forward. We have engaged a number of development partners who have been working on the planning process and who can now bring these plans to fruition over the next few weeks.” Says Metz.

“Our timelines for development are tight and support from the community in a project of this size was vital.

Once we received that sanction we can now bring resources to the table and begin formalizing our arrangements.”

For more information, call 306-790-9860.