South Peace Historical Society

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    • About Dorthea Horton
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  • Table of Contents

    • Part 1: First Nations of the Peace River Region
    • Part 2: The Fur Trade Era
    • Part 3: Transportation and Communication
    • Part 4: Old Timers and the Price of Land
    • Part 5: Dawson Creek: The Story of the Community
    • Part 6: Mysteries, Adventures and Indian Legends
    • Part 7: Arts, Crafts and Recreation
    • Part 8: Agriculture
    • Part 9: Church Histories
    • Part 10: Schools
    • Part 11: Health Care
    • Part 12: Industries and Enterprises
    • Part 13: Policing the Peace
    • Part 14: Pouce Coupe, Rolla, and Other South Peace Communities
    • Part 15: Chetwynd and the Fort St. John Area
    • Part 16: The Alberta Peace
    • Part 17: Natural History of the Peace River Region
    • Part 18: Interviews with Old Timers
    • Part 19: Remembering Our Veterans

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BN12-46: Ethanol Plant Remains a Goal for Regional District

Recent History – 2001

March 27, 2001

By Mark Nielsen, Daily News Staff

The Peace River Regional District (PRRD) will continue to keep the area’s name in the spotlight amongst those seeking a home for an ethanol plant.

PRRD directors generally agreed that a report prepared by Wes Anderson of Canadian Agricultural Strategies Inc. gives reason to believe that the Peace would have a chance to attract such a plant.

Between whitewood, bark, and straw, Anderson said in the report that there is enough feedstock in the region to support a small to medium sized facility.

“The region’s location with respect to Edmonton and potential back haul truck traffic to blending facilities adds to this regional advantage,” Anderson added in the report.

But the competition looks to be tough. According to an industry-government group, Ethanol B.C., Prince George is the only region in the province that can meet the four criteria it had set out for establishing a wood ethanol plant.

Only by combining straw and bark with whitewood, would the Peace River be able to secure enough feedstock to compete with the Prince George proposal according to Anderson.

And matters weren’t helped by the fact that the Peace River region was given no opportunity to make any representation to Ethanol B.C. before their report was drafted.

While Ethanol B.C. expressed strong doubts about the development of a commercially viable technology for making ethanol, Anderson said that two ethanol processing facilities are being pursued — one in Ottawa and the other in Vancouver.

Directors voted Thursday to send a copy of Anderson’s report to Ethanol B.C. and request that a member of the PRRD board be appointed to the Ethanol B.C. steering committee.

Not all the directors agreed, however. Electoral area D (rural Dawson Creek) director Albert Erbe said the PRRD is overstepping its role as a government body and that ultimately it is private capital that will decide where a plant will be built.

But Dawson Creek municipal director Blair Lekstrom said that the PRRD could still work on creating an environment that would draw such investors and that the effort would not cost the regional district much money.

“At the end of the day, if ethanol is viable, I want to make sure the Peace is at the forefront,” Lekstrom said.

This article is taken from the Peace River Block Daily News, Dawson Creek, with the permission of the publisher. The Daily News retains all rights relating to this material. The information in this article is intended solely for research or general interest purposes.

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BN12-47: Mall Underlying Issue as Co-op Meeting Nears »

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