Don Cameron, Alberta Operations Site Director & Vice President of Dow Canada, presents in Red Deer on March 9, 2022 at the Radisson Hotel, giving an update on the net-zero carbon emissions project. (Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

Net-zero carbon emissions project

Dow Canada gives update on Prentiss plant and engagement in Red Deer

Mar 10, 2022 | 5:10 PM

Dow Canada presented an update this week on their net-zero carbon emissions project and its impacts on the Prentiss plant in Lacombe County.

At a Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce luncheon hosted at the Radisson hotel, Don Cameron, recently appointed Alberta Operations Site Director & Vice President of Dow Canada, presented the proposed project.

In October 2021, Dow Canada announced its plan to build the world’s first net-zero carbon emissions ethylene and derivatives complex at their Fort Saskatchewan location. The facility, employing over 1,000 workers and contractors, produces ethylene which is then “cracked” or broken down into molecules and sent to other plants, like Prentiss, that transform the gasses into polyethylene, used to make many different plastic consumer products.

The new infrastructure in Fort Saskatchewan would capture the carbon (CO₂) emissions, turning the cracker off-gas into hydrogen, which can then be used to replace natural gas to heat furnaces, electricity, and other forms of energy.

“We think that plastic and hydrocarbon are way too valuable to stick into landfills or the environment,” said Cameron. “Our hydrocarbon molecules that we have in the world are best served going into generating sustainable solutions.”

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For the Prentiss location, while not chosen to become carbon-neutral for this project, is considered a world class polyethylene plant modeled by other Dow plants, according to Cameron. The company intends to invest in the facility to ensure bottlenecks in production are reduced when utilizing the carbon-free ethylene from the Fort Saskatchewan plant, and therefore minimizing the carbon footprint.

Addressing the debate on banning plastics altogether, Cameron says this isn’t the answer. He explained the benefits of plastic, like its durability and light-weight, are necessary for creating environmentally-friendly energy sources and it is rather the process of creating plastics that should be improved. As an example, Cameron says it takes seven tons of plastic to build one wind turbine, a renewable energy source.

With the Prentiss plant employing over 100 employees, many from Red Deer, Dow Canada plans on furthering their engagement strategies in the city. Some include their initiatives with Red Deer Habitat for Humanity, FIRST Robotics activities for students, Women Building Futures program for women in construction and more.

With engineers currently ironing out the details of the project, Cameron, who spent his last 30 years with the company, stated Alberta is the perfect place for the job. Not only are there carbon capturing infrastructures currently in place, but he says the provincial government is in support of the innovative project.

“I do think Canada, and Alberta in particular, has embraced that they want to be part of this solution of having sustainable solutions,” he said. “As much as there is political back and forth, both sides of the aisle are pretty interested in how can we get investment dollars into Alberta and do something good with it.”

Recently, Premier Jason Kenney and two MLAs were in the United States attending energy industry conferences.

Even with the economic uncertainty in the oil industry with the present conflict in Ukraine, Cameron says rising oil prices could lead to potential benefits only seen in Alberta. While other countries in Europe and Asia require oil to generate ethylene plants, the province can use its natural gas to keep production going.

The project is expected to add 1.8 million metric tons of ethylene and polyethylene production, triple of what is produced in Alberta.