Suncor Energy Products Inc. today announced it is considering a site for the development of its proposed ethanol plant in the Sarnia-Lambton region. The site that Suncor is considering for development is located at the southwest corner of Highway #40 and Rokeby Line, in St. Clair Township.
“Suncor always considers a number of financial, environmental and social factors whenever we’re studying a project. Over the past few months, we have done extensive study and in consideration of all these factors — including the co-operation of the Council and staff of the Township of St. Clair — this location appears well suited for Suncor’s proposed ethanol facility,” said Tom Ryley, Suncor’s executive vice president. “We want to thank the Sarnia-Lambton community, Mayor Mike Bradley, and St. Clair Mayor Joe Dedecker for their assistance in this process.”
“Suncor has started consultations with the surrounding community, and we will continue with public consultations, preliminary planning and engineering work and the environmental approval process before making a final decision to proceed,” said Kirk Bailey, vice president, Sarnia refinery. “We remain committed to listening to and working with our neighbours and the local community.”
A preliminary open-house meeting to discuss Suncor’s plans has been scheduled for April 28th, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the St. Clair Township offices, 155 Emily Street, in Mooretown. Additional meetings to discuss Suncor’s plans, and listen to community input, will be held afterwards. Suncor expects to submit plans for environmental and other required regulatory approvals when community consultations are more advanced.
“We’re excited about this potential investment by Suncor in our township. Suncor has done a great job keeping us informed, and they understand the importance of consulting our residents,” said St. Clair Township Mayor Joe Dedecker. “We’re going to do everything in our legislative power to make sure this site, if developed, is done in an environmentally responsible manner.”
The proposed ethanol plant would be a world-class facility capable of producing more than 200 million litres of ethanol per year that would be blended into Sunoco gasolines (Sunoco retail stations in Ontario are owned by Suncor Energy Products). The ethanolized gasoline would also be sold through other wholesale and retail channels.
Ethanol is an alcohol that is made from corn or grain. Suncor plans to make the ethanol at the plant from mostly regionally-grown corn. Should Suncor receive final regulatory approvals, the ethanol plant will create 30-40 full-time jobs in the Sarnia-Lambton area, and is expected to create up to 250 construction jobs during construction in 2005. The cost of the project is $120 million. The plant will utilize 18-20 million bushels of mostly Ontario-grown corn each year.
Suncor’s planned ethanol facility will be similar to those recently built in the United States. These facilities use state-of-the-art technology to produce ethanol in a safe and efficient manner. Thermal oxidizer technology, which scrubs emissions and reduces odours, is also planned for Suncor’s proposed ethanol plant. Sunoco is the only major gasoline retailer to sell ethanol blend gasolines in Ontario, and one of few retailers in Canada. All Sunoco gasolines contain ten per cent ethanol at no additional cost to customers. Ethanol-blend gasolines burn cleaner and help reduce emissions that contribute to smog.
Suncor Energy Products Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Suncor Energy Inc., a Canadian integrated energy company. In addition to a refinery in Sarnia, Suncor Energy Products has a network of 281 Sunoco-branded retail and Fleet Fuel cardlock sites and has a 50 per cent joint venture interest in over 200 Pioneer and UPI retail sites. Suncor Energy Products Inc. manufactures, distributes and markets transportation fuels, heating oils and petrochemicals primarily in Ontario. For more information, see the Sunoco website at www.sunoco.ca.
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For more information:
Neil Levine
nlevine@suncor.com
(416) 733-7224