Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas announces $44 million in funding to small and medium business projects. (Government of Alberta/YouTube)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

$44 MILLION

Government of Alberta invests in emissions reducing projects from small and medium businesses

Jul 12, 2024 | 12:13 PM

Alberta’s government says it is investing $44 million in an effort to help 21 small and medium businesses reduce emissions and lower energy costs.

Government officials say the funding is designed to help these businesses get projects off the ground, including new technology to help power generation, agriculture, forestry, oil and gas, fertilizer, construction, electricity and other sectors. It will be delivered through the Emissions Reduction Alberta’s Emerging Innovators Challenge.

“We are giving Alberta’s small and medium businesses the funding they need to launch their innovation-driven technologies faster and grow their startups to create jobs, save money and lower emissions here at home and around the world,” says Rebecca Shulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas.

If successful, government officials say the 21 projects are projected to create more than 875 jobs and contribute $238 million to Alberta’s GDP by 2027. The technology used in each of these projects is expected to reduce 206,000 tonnes of emissions per year, 1.2 million tonnes by 2030, and 5 million tonnes by 2050.

“Small and medium-sized enterprises are critical to Alberta’s economy,” adds Justin Riemer, Chief Executive Officer of Emissions Reduction Alberta. “The Government of Alberta’s investment through Emissions Reduction Alberta’s Emerging Innovators Challenge will provide 21 small and medium enterprises with access to capital and support services, allowing them to commercialize their technology, increase their competitiveness, and reduce emissions.”

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In this case, small businesses are those with fewer than 50 employees, while mediums are those with fewer than 500 employees.

The government says some of the projects to receive funding include a robotic, AI-powered horticultural lighting system in Calgary and Medicine Hat that is designed to more efficiently grow plants while reducing energy use, a power generation system for the oil sands that captures, stores and converts energy in Wood Buffalo, and piloting an innovative new satellite system that detects methane emissions from space.

The new funding also includes $5 million to help SixRing expand its current biomass testing facility to a commercial operation in Lethbridge County. Officials say SixRing transforms organic waste into sustainable products, taking non-food biomass such as agricultural straws and forest sector waste residues and turning it into high-value advanced biofuels, such as drop-in renewable diesel, second generation bioethanol, sustainable aviation fuel, bio-chemicals and more.

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