The former Mauricie Residual Materials Management Board, now called Énercycle, will be authorized until next week to sell its biogas produced at the Saint-Étienne-des-Grès landfill to Énergir after a meeting last week between the mayor of Shawinigan and the Environment Minister.
The day after the meeting, an Environment Ministry official told the inter-municipal body that the long-awaited permit deed would be issued in the coming days.
Without the valuable permit, Énercycle was forced for several weeks to burn the biogas produced by decomposing the waste and release it into the atmosphere, resulting in losses of up to $100,000 a month.
“Factory [de raffinage] is being tested. It’s organized. The booster system has been checked and tested. The only thing we are waiting for is the authorization certificate, open the valve and start raising money,” said Michel Angers, Mayor of Shawinigan and President of Énercycle, commemorating “a historic moment”.
The Régie had already experienced a technical fiasco when attempting to supply the Savoura tomato greenhouses with biogas. The contract was canceled after ten years because the processing of the biogas to meet the expected quality standards led to a deficit.
The agreement with Énergir should become more lucrative. “We’re going to find ourselves in a situation where we’re going to be making between $500,000 and $1,000,000 a year. It is the taxpayers of the Mauricie who can benefit, added Michel Angers.