Honestly shocked these two announcements have not been posted. Absolutely massive for Alberta on two different fronts.
First, world's biggest MDF plant being built in Stettler, Alberta.
Quote:
The Stettler region will soon be home to a new multi-million-dollar business.
Councils from the Town of Stettler, the County of Stettler and representatives from the company made the announcement during a joint meeting on July 15th.
The business in question coming to the region is Great Plains MDF Production Inc. which will be building a $750 million straw fibre MDF board plant on a half-section of land near the airport.
According to the press release, the plant will be, “An ideally situated half section adjacent to rail, roads, power and water supply.”
When operational, the plant will feature a “1,000,000 square foot main factory which will house 70m and 40m continuous press lines.”
Touted as the world’s largest Medium-Density-Fibre-Board (MDF) plant once completed, the facility will produce 500 million sq. ft. of ¾” product per year.
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https://www.stettlerindependent.com/...duction-plant/
This is absolutely massive. Not only will it stop the carbon emissions being created by burning straw at the end of harvest, but it actually takes the straw and uses it to actively store carbon. And with the size of this plant, the amount of carbon being stored is going to be bonkers. There are smaller plants in Canada that create similar products that store up to 1 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year, which is more or less the equivalent of C02 absorption of a forest the size of Banff National Park.
PER YEAR. This would turn Alberta into a world leader for MDF and MDF related products, which I should remind everyone is a market that is MASSIVELY growing. And this plant should do that by utilizing a more renewable resource that what is traditionally used to manufacture MDF.
Seriously, crazy. Really, really surprised this isn't getting massive headlines. Just a massive win for Alberta.
Secondly, Tesla Megapacks being installed alongside the Summerview Wind Farm near Pincher Creek, Alberta.
Quote:
TransAlta's WindCharger will be the first lithium-ion, utility-scale battery storage project in Alberta. It will utilize Tesla's Megapack battery technology, charged with electricity from Summerview Wind Farm.
Tesla is deploying its Megapack tech in the new WindCharger project in Canada, TransAlta announced via its Twitter account in early June 2020. Now TransAlta is ready to turn on the power at Alberta's first large-scale battery storage project, using technology from Tesla. If the technology works on a wider scale, it could be a “tipping point” in the power industry. Alberta’s largest electricity generator said it has huge potential and the project is “really cool,” according to Vancouver Sun.
Later this month, Calgary-based TransAlta will flip on the switch at Alberta's first utility-scale, lithium-ion battery storage facility, known as the WindCharger project. The development, northeast of Pincher Creek, will be able to store electricity from the company’s nearby Summerview wind farm and then discharge it when needed.
The project, costing about $16 million to build, consists of three Tesla lithium-ion battery storage groupings, capable of distributing 10 megawatts (MW) for up to two hours, providing up to 20 MWh of storage capacity.
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https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesm...tion-in-canada
Another big, big deal for Alberta. With some big solar plants being constructed in Vulcan and the Edmonton airport, along with some other big ones already operating, PLUS the wind power already scattered throughout the province, this could be massive. Staggeringly massive.
The entire energy landscape in Alberta could be changing in less than a year if this works.
Great to see. Didn't want to post it in this thread, because some people will not see it. Seriously, massive news.