The provincial government is investing $35 million to support regional industry projects that aim to create local jobs and grow the area’s clean economy.
The CleanBC Industry Fund helps companies adopt cleaner technologies and supports the transition to electrification and net-zero operations at their B.C. facilities.
Since 2019, the fund has committed more than $368 million to 173 projects throughout the province.
“We’re helping B.C. industries accelerate decarbonization and lead in the global shift to clean energy,” says Adrian Dix, the province’s Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions. “These consistent and focused investments protect good jobs today, while opening the door to new opportunities in tomorrow’s economy.”
For example, Creative Energy will investigate the potential for recovering waste heat from a data centre in downtown Vancouver. This technology can reduce emissions by capturing and redistributing waste heat to nearby buildings connected to Creative Energy’s district energy system.
In the Kootenays, Teck Resources used support from the fund to pilot the use of biocarbon to partially replace fossil fuels in critical mineral and metal production.
“This project helps us explore cleaner technologies that could shift the way critical minerals and metals are made in B.C.,” stated Matt Parrilla, general manager of Trail operations for Teck. “It supports long-term sustainability for workers and communities that rely on critical mineral and metal production.”
ARC Resources, meanwhile, has electrified all of its major facilities in northeastern B.C. and is evaluating additional opportunities to replace gas-powered engines with electric ones connected to the provincial grid.
“Electrification has played an important role in lowering emissions while supporting the production of efficient and low-cost natural gas,” remarked Armin Jahangiri, chief operating officer of ARC. “The CleanBC Industry Fund enables us to explore electrification solutions that improve efficiency, lower emissions, and show how responsible development and innovation can move forward together.”
Cenovus Energy, at several facilities in the northeast region, will replace conventional pneumatic pumps with solar electric pumps in order to eliminate vented methane emissions from chemical injection systems.
And NorthRiver, at its McMahon Gas Plant, will replace sulphur recovery units with a carbon capture and storage system in order to reduce emissions from acid gas processing and combustion, and to lower carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide air emissions.
CleanBC Industry Fund projects are chosen through a competitive process that evaluates each project’s business case, the cost of reducing emissions, and the broader potential of the technology to benefit other industries. Projects are funded through milestone-based agreements with performance metrics to ensure emissions reductions are achieved.
Applications for the 2025 funding round are open.
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