A proposed project in southern New Brunswick that would convert dairy farm manure and aquaculture fish waste into natural gas has been given provincial environmental impact assessment approval about five months after its application was filed.
The speed of the process “was a nice surprise,” said Scott Walton, one of three partners in Bio Voltex, the company proposing to build the plant on unzoned agricultural land, off Highway 114 in Penobsquis.
“We know of a lot of projects around Canada that are two to three years to go through that process,” he said.
According to documents filed with the Department of Environment and Local Government, the plant would be capable of processing 135,000 tonnes of waste per year and making 200,000 gigajoules of natural gas.
“Basically, the material will decompose, it’ll release methane, we’ll clean up that gas and then inject it into the pipeline,” Walton said.
How much electricity that could generate depends on the technology used, but if burned, it would heat a few thousand homes.
The company filed its paperwork for the assessment on March 18 and was issued a certificate of approval Aug. 20.
The approval is subject to 17 conditions.
Notably, an environmental management plan is required that covers what will happen if there are problems with odour, air quality, water quality or noise.
In the event of complaints, the conditions say Bio Voltex may be required to investigate and take necessary actions at its own expense.
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