Last week, we officially inaugurated our first full-scale facility in Edmonton. This announcement was shared by Enerkem's CEO, Mr. Vincent Chornet, Mayor Don Iveson from the City of Edmonton, and the Honourable Robin Campbell, Alberta Minister of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, as well as Diana McQueen, Alberta Minister of Energy. The City of Edmonton is a world leader in sustainable waste management, and we're proud to have been selected by the city to help Edmontonians increase their residential waste diversion rate from 60% today, to 90%. Alberta Innovates—Energy and Environment Solutions is also a partner in this project. Their staff served on the steering committee that provided technical input and advice during the selection process.
The facility will have a production capacity of 38 million litres per year, which is enough to fuel the tanks of 400,000 cars annually on a 5% ethanol blend. It is expected to generate net economic spending in the local area of nearly $65 million annually. During the construction, more than 600 direct and indirect jobs were created for the modular manufacturing of the facility's systems and their on-site assembly. You have a summary of this economic impact analysis that was conducted by Doyletech.
The start-up of the biorefinery is just a few days away, and follows a rigorous commissioning plan, which is nearing completion. Biomethanol production will begin progressively during the start-up. A module converting the biomethanol into advanced ethanol will be added during 2015. The completion of this game-changing facility is by far one of the most significant developments the waste and biorefinery sectors have seen yet. Municipalities around the world are looking at what we are doing in Edmonton. We're thrilled that it is becoming a model for many communities and industries around the world.
Enerkem's technologies are homegrown, cleantech innovations. It is the result of more than 10 years of sustained efforts to scale up our technology from pilot and demonstration to now commercial scale.
Disruptive technologies are not overnight successes. They are crafted by like-minded customers, visionary founders, and investors. Pilot and demonstration plants take years to develop and require discipline and sustained efforts. They also require public policies and programs that stimulate private investment, open the marketplace, and help move from lab, pilot, demonstration, to full-scale production.
Enerkem benefited from the support of the federal government, which, through Natural Resources Canada, NSERC, and the Sustainable Development Technology Canada tech fund, has provided support in developing our technology early on, and up to this day has been an essential partner in our success.
The Quebec government has also been involved at every stage of our development and growth, from the early phase of the research at the Université de Sherbrooke to the development of our modular equipment fabrication infrastructure. The Alberta government is also another of our partners through Alberta Innovates—Energy and Environment Solutions, Alberta Energy, and the Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation.
Policies on renewable fuel standards are at the cornerstone of Enerkem's commercial growth. They have opened the marketplace for Enerkem's biofuels and created the policy certainty necessary to attract private investment. Enerkem has been successful in raising $240 million in private capital since its inception.
According to Analytica Advisors, which has been monitoring Canada's cleantech sector for five years, the Canadian clean technology industry is valued at $11 billion today, and is already on track to grow to a $28-billion industry by 2022. Its success is partly due to its structure. In fact, the industry is composed of about 700 SMEs around the country. Most of them have less than $50 million in revenue, but together they invest $1 billion in R and D, and employ 41,100 Canadians, 20% of whom have not yet celebrated their 30th birthday.
In addition to solving waste management issues at home, Enerkem's clean technology opens the door to export increases. In North America alone, 529 million tonnes of waste are generated every year. More than half of it is landfilled, and it has the potential to be converted into 63 billion litres of biofuels annually with Enerkem's technology.
Given Enerkem's modular manufacturing approach, biorefinery facilities built in the United States and elsewhere can be built in large part in prefabricated modules in eastern Canada where Enerkem has built the major part of its manufacturing infrastructure.
The benefits of converting our non-recyclable garbage into higher value products are significant for Canadians. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 60%. It provides municipalities with a cost-effective alternative to landfilling and incineration. It increases energy diversification and greens our energy basket. It helps meet our federal and provincial renewable fuel mandates. It increases domestic production of biofuels and reduces our biofuel imports with locally produced, second-generation biofuels. It creates high-quality green jobs. It implements a new industry, the biorefinery sector. It stimulates regional economies. It contributes to revitalizing our manufacturing sector. It elevates Canada's profile as a leader in clean technology, and it contributes to the advancement of research in advanced chemicals and new biofuels.
To ensure the development of a sustainable waste management sector in Canada, we would like to make four recommendations.
First, the federal government should continue its efforts to support the commercialization of Canadian innovation and technology.
A variety of activities can ensure that innovations, which have the potential to profitably solve waste management issues, are supported until they reach the full commercial scale. These policies and programs are essential to attract the private investment necessary to scale up technologies and finance first-of-kind projects until they can be financed in a more traditional way, meaning with the support of banks via debt financing.
R and D tax credits and Sustainable Development Technology Canada are great examples of how the federal government is making a difference.
Second, governments should make sure that regulations take into account new technologies and that they be updated in order to reflect these new circumstances.
For example, clean technologies that are waste conversion processes involving the use of heat but not combustion, such as incinerators, can sometimes be forced to follow the same restrictive environmental permitting processes that are imposed on incinerators. These provincial regulations must absolutely be updated as today they are an impediment to the development of sustainable waste diversion projects and end up reinforcing the status quo around the use of landfilling.
Third, the federal government must seriously consider initiatives to stimulate the next-gen biofuel sector.
The second-generation biofuels sector has not benefited from the programs that were put in place for the conventional biofuels industry, given the timing of its commercial deployment. Today, only one program exists, and it only allows the financing of one project. This is the next generation biofuels fund managed by SDTC.
Countries around the world have put in place policies to stimulate the development of the second-generation biofuels sector. Some countries, like the U.K., have a double-counting factor for cellulosic ethanol. One litre of cellulosic ethanol counts for two litres, which stimulates refiners to buy this product and investors to finance these capital-intensive projects. In the U.S. the federal government has established a mandate that is specific to cellulosic biofuels and has implemented tax incentives for cellulosic biofuels.
We would like to recommend that the government remove the fuel excise tax on cellulosic biofuels. Exempting cellulosic biofuels from the 10¢ per litre federal excise tax on gasoline would directly contribute to meeting the government's goal of creating economic growth in a fiscally responsible manner, while reducing GHG emissions.
Finally, we would propose that biofuels made from waste be eligible for the capital cost allowance tax incentive for clean energy production.
The accelerated capital cost allowance for clean energy generation under class 43.1 and class 43.2 includes a variety of equipment that generates or conserves energy by using renewable energy such as wind, solar, and fuels from waste, such as landfill gas. It does not include equipment like ours, which focuses on the production of liquid transportation fuels from waste rather than stationary energy.
In conclusion, Enerkem's technology and facilities offer Canadians a sustainable alternative to waste landfilling and incineration, while helping diversify our energy mix and making greener everyday products.
We sincerely feel that clean technology like ours has the potential to create more wealth at home and to provide a healthier and more sustainable environment for Canadians.
Thank you.