Canada creates $200m biofuels initiative

The Canadian government has launched what it calls the ecoAgriculture Biofuels Capital initiative (ecoABC).

The program's new $200 million fund is to increase renewable fuel capacity by helping agricultural producers construct or expand production facilities for biofuels intended for the transportation industry in Canada.

Canada's government has committed to ensuring all gasoline in the country contains an average of 5 percent renewable fuel content by 2010, and diesel fuel and heating oil in Canada contain an average of 2 percent by 2012.

"The ecoAgriculture Biofuels Capital Initiative is a significant boost for farmer participation in biofuels production. This is the first program to give farmers capital assistance to construct or expand biofuels facilities," said Chuck Strahl, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board.

"With this initiative, we expect a potential increase in renewable fuel capacity of 1.5 billion litres," he said.

ecoABC is a new federal four-year initiative to provide repayable contributions of up to $25 million per project to help farmers overcome the challenges of raising the capital necessary for the construction or expansion of biofuel production facilities.

"Renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel are sparking a renaissance in agriculture around the world," said Kory Teneycke, Executive Director, Canadian Renewable Fuels Association. "We are proud to support the ecoABC program, as it will help farmers invest directly in biofuels facilities, not just supplying them with grain."

Funding for the ecoABC Initiative was initially announced on December 20, 2006, under the name Capital Assistance Formation Program (CFAP). The 2007 Canadian federal budget is to allocate another $2 billion over seven years to support the production of renewable fuels in Canada.

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