Alberta
Alberta piloting test to supply industry with fuel derived from worn-out tires
Turning industrial waste into energy |
Alberta is launching a Tire-Derived Fuel pilot to test the effectiveness of turning old, worn-out tires into energy to power industrial facilities.
Alberta’s government is helping industry reduce emissions, save money and turn landfill waste into energy – all through technology.
Around the world, demand for industrial and manufacturing products is rising rapidly. Companies are looking for more ways to repurpose waste, decrease costs and increase operational efficiency while reducing emissions, but these improvements can be expensive and complex.
Alberta’s government and industry are stepping up and setting an example for the world, investing in two new programs to help more industrial and manufacturing companies reduce emissions, re-use waste and keep powering the world. In partnership with Lafarge Canada, the province will launch a program to expand the use of recycled spare tires and will invest $10 million in a second program to help industry save on their energy bills.
“We are investing in lower-emission fuels and facility upgrades to set our energy sector up for continued success. These new initiatives will keep our province at the forefront of technological advancement and ensure Alberta continues to lead the way to reduce emissions and turn waste into energy.”
New Tire-Derived Fuel Pilot Project
Alberta is launching a Tire-Derived Fuel pilot to test the effectiveness of turning old, worn-out tires into energy to power industrial facilities. Led by the Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA), the pilot will turn up to 1.5 million used tires into up to 15,750 tonnes of chips that will become tire-derived fuel in the coming months.
Lafarge Canada’s new Low-Carbon Fuel Facility will participate in the pilot project. They have the equipment needed to burn waste-derived fuels, reducing their use of natural gas. Results from the pilot will be used to help determine whether tire-derived fuel should be permanently added to the province’s existing Tire Recycling Program.
New Strategic Energy Management for Industry Program
Alberta’s government is also investing $10 million from the industry-funded Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund to help launch the new Strategic Energy Management for Industry program, open for applications on Oct. 17.
Delivered through Emissions Reduction Alberta, the program will cover the cost of energy assessments and capital retrofits to save Alberta-based industrial and manufacturing facilities money on their energy bills. It will also provide energy management training, knowledge sharing and technical support.
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, mining, oil and gas, and cement companies will all be eligible for funding. Additional funding will also be provided by the Government of Canada and announced soon. More information will be shared on Emissions Reduction Alberta’s website.
New Low-Carbon Fuel Facility
Thanks in part to $10 million in TIER funding delivered through Emissions Reduction Alberta, Lafarge Canada has opened a cutting-edge Low-Carbon Fuel Facility that will replace up to 50 per cent of the natural gas it uses with low-carbon fuel from construction demolition waste. This will keep up to 120,000 tonnes of construction and demolition materials out of landfills and produce up to 30,000 fewer tonnes of emissions.
“The Tire-Derived Fuel Pilot program is another step in resource recovery. We appreciate the support from the Government of Alberta and industry partners like Lafarge Canada, enabling us to explore innovative recycling technologies to assess its viability. This pilot initiative not only addresses near-term tire stockpile reduction needs from our Tire Recycling Program, but also brings the potential to further boost economic opportunities across the province.”
“Improving the efficiency of industrial and manufacturing processes and facilities is the quickest, most cost-effective way to lower energy bills and stay competitive. But it takes knowledge, expertise, training and capital. With SEMI, Alberta companies will soon have even more opportunity to invest in energy and cost-saving technologies.”
“We’re pleased to see the Government of Alberta’s continued commitment to technology and innovation funding, which plays a crucial role in driving innovation and sustainability across all industries. Lafarge Canada has directly benefited from past support, helping us advance our low-carbon solutions. These funding opportunities empower us to accelerate our efforts to reduce emissions and contribute to a more sustainable future for Alberta.”
Quick facts
- Albertans have recycled more than 149.5 million tires and diverted hundreds of thousands of tonnes of tires from landfills since 1992 through ARMA’s existing Tire Recycling Program.
- Scrap tires are currently processed under ARMA’s Tire Recycling Program and turned into drainage material in municipal landfills, playground surfaces, sidewalk blocks, roofing tiles and landscaping mulch, but with markets for recycled tire products declining, alternative outlets are needed to avoid tire stockpiles.
- To date, Emissions Reduction Alberta has invested $960 million from the industrial carbon price toward more than 290 projects worth over $8.6 billion, estimated to reduce 40 million tonnes of emissions by 2030.
Related information
- Emissions Reduction Alberta
- ARMA: Tire Recycling Program
- Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction System
Despite falling into disrepute in recent years, “follow the science” remains our best shot at getting at the truth of the physical sciences.
But science, if we are to place our trust in it, must be properly defined and understood; it is at its essence an ever-changing process, a relentless pursuit of truth that is never “settled,” and one that is unafraid to discard old hypotheses in the face of new evidence.
And it is in this light—in the unforgiving glare of honest science—that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s three new legislative initiatives around gender policy are properly understood, notwithstanding the opprobrium they’ve attracted from critics.
Bill 26, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, proposes to prohibit the prescription of puberty blockers and cross-gender hormones for the treatment of gender dysphoria to youth aged 15 and under. It would allow minors aged 16 and 17 to begin puberty blockers and hormone therapies for gender “reassignment” and “affirmation” purposes only with parental, physician, and psychologist approval. The bill also prohibits health professionals from performing sex reassignment surgeries on minors.
Bill 27, the Education Amendment Act, seeks to enshrine parents’ rights to be notified if their kids change their names/pronouns at school, and it gives parents the right to “opt in” to what sort of gender and sex education their kids are exposed to in school.
And Bill 29, the Fairness and Safety in Sports Act, is designed to protect females in sports by ensuring that women and girls can compete in biological female-only divisions, while supporting the formation of co-ed opportunities to support transgender athletes.
Each of these initiatives is entirely reasonable, given what we know of the science underpinning “gender care,” and of the undeniable advantages that a male physique confers upon biological males competing in sports.
The notion that the trifecta of puberty blockers, cross-gender hormones, and revisionist surgery is a pathway to good health was a hypothesis initially devised by Dutch researchers, who were looking to ease the discomfort of transgender adults struggling with incongruence between their physical appearance and their gender identities. As a hypothesis, it was perhaps reasonable.
But as the UK’s Cass Review exposed in withering detail last spring, its premises were wholly unsupported by evidence, and its implementation has caused grievous harm for youth. As Finnish psychiatrist Riittakerttu Kaltiala, one of the architects of that country’s gender program, put it last year, “Gender affirming care is dangerous. I know, because I helped pioneer it.”
It’s no accident, then, that numerous European jurisdictions have pulled back from the “gender affirming care” pathway for youth, such as Sweden, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
It makes perfect sense that Canadians should be cautious as well, and that parents should be apprised if their children are being exposed to these theories at school and informed if their kids are caught up in their premises.
Yet the Canadian medical establishment has remained curiously intransigent on this issue, continuing to insist that the drug-and-surgery-based gender-affirming care model is rooted in evidence.
Premier Smith was asked by a reporter last month whether decisions on these matters aren’t best left to discussions between doctors and their patients; to which she replied:
“I would say doctors aren’t always right.”
Which is rather an understatement, as anyone familiar with the opioid drug crisis can attest, or as anyone acquainted with the darker corners of medical history knows: the frontal lobotomy saga, the thalidomide catastrophe, and the “recovered memories of sexual abuse” scandal are just a few examples of where doctors didn’t “get it right.”
As physicians, we advocate strongly for self-regulation and for the principle that medical decisions are private matters between physicians and patients. But self-regulation isn’t infallible, and when it fails it can be very much in the interests of the public—and especially of patients—for others to intervene, whether they be journalists, lawyers, or political leaders.
The trans discussion shouldn’t be a partisan issue, although it certainly has become one in Canada. It’s worth noting that Britain’s freshly elected Labour Party chose to carry on with the cautious approach adopted by the preceding administration in light of the Cass Review.
Premier Smith’s new polices are eminently sensible and in line with the stance taken by our European colleagues. None of her initiatives are “anti-trans.” Instead, they are pro-child, pro-women, and pro-athlete, and it’s difficult to see how anyone can quibble with that.
Dr. J. Edward Les, MD, is a pediatrician in Calgary, senior fellow at the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, and co-author of Teenagers, Children, and Gender Transition Policy: A Comparison of Transgender Medical Policy for Minors in Canada, the United States, and Europe.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu of the Governors’ Coalition for Energy Security
Premier Danielle Smith has joined the Governors’ Coalition for Energy Security to further support advocacy of Alberta’s energy and environmental interests with key U.S. states.
The coalition was established in September 2024 by U.S. State governors Jeff Landry (Louisiana) and Chris Sununu (New Hampshire) with the aim of ensuring energy security, lower energy costs, increased reliability, sustainable economic development and sensible management of energy resources and the environment. With 12 U.S. states already signatories to the coalition, Alberta is the first non-U.S. state to enter into this agreement.
By expanding energy ties with the U.S. and promoting cross-border energy trade and participation, Alberta is helping to build upon its North American Energy strategy. Alberta already accounts for 56 per cent of all oil imports to the U.S. – twice as much as Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Iraq combined – which is helping to drive job creation and prosperity on both sides of the border. Natural gas also plays an important role in North America’s energy mix. Alberta is the largest producer of natural gas in Canada and remains positioned to support the U.S. in filling their domestic supply gaps.
“I am honoured to join the Governors’ Coalition for Energy Security and would like to extend my sincere thanks to governors Landry and Sununu for the invitation. Alberta plays a vital role in North American energy security, serving as the largest supplier of crude oil and natural gas to the United States. With 200 billion barrels of recoverable oil, 200 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, significant natural gas liquids and ample pore space for carbon capture, Alberta’s contribution is set to grow even further as we look to work with the Trump Administration and other U.S. partners to increase our pipeline capacity to our greatest friend and ally, the United States. We are proud to collaborate with this coalition of allied states in advancing energy security, reliability and affordability for Americans and Canadians.”
“Our mission as an organization has not changed but Alberta’s welcome arrival to our group sparked a conversation about what our core mission is, and that is ensuring energy security in all its forms. Our members all share the common goal of enhancing and protecting energy options for our people and businesses, which leads to lower energy costs, increased reliability, sustainable economic development and wise management of energy resources and the environment. I welcome Premier Smith and the insights she will bring as the leader from a fellow energy-producing province, that like my state, is under a federal system of government where national imperatives are not always aligned with state or provincial interests.”
Alberta is a global leader in emissions reduction technology and clean energy solutions. The province has captured about 14 million tonnes of carbon dioxide through carbon capture, utilization and storage technology, and has the ability to support the U.S. in developing new infrastructure and supply chains for future energy markets in the areas of hydrogen, renewables, small modular reactors and others.
Alberta is also unlocking its untapped geological potential to help meet the increasing demand for minerals – many of which are used worldwide to manufacture batteries, cell phones, energy storage cells and other products. This includes the province’s lithium sector where Alberta’s government is supporting several innovative projects to develop new ways to extract and concentrate lithium faster and with higher recovery rates that are less capital and energy intensive and have a smaller land-use footprint.
As part of this coalition, Alberta looks forward to sharing best practices with states that already have expertise in these areas.
Quick facts
- The U.S. is Alberta’s largest trading partner, with C$188 billion in bilateral trade in 2023.
- In 2023, energy products accounted for approximately C$133.6 billion, or more than 80 per cent of Alberta’s exports to the U.S.
- The Governors’ Coalition for Energy Security’s 12 signatory states include Louisiana, New Hampshire, Indiana (Governor Eric Holcomb), Alabama (Governor Kay Ivey), Georgia (Governor Brian Kemp), Tennessee (Governor Bill Lee), South Dakota (Governor Kristi Noem), Mississippi (Governor Tate Reeves), Arkansas (Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders), Oklahoma (Governor Kevin Stitt), Wyoming (Governor Mark Gordon) and Virginia (Governor Glenn Youngkin).
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