Canada's first waste-to-energy plant is in development thanks to a strategic partnership between Canada Growth Fund Inc. (CGF), Gibson Energy Inc., and Varme Energy Inc., according to the Environment+Energy Leader. The project brings substantial promise to the global effort to replace toxic pollution with more affordable energy solutions — catalyzing business and tech innovation, improved health, job creation (according to the International Renewable Energy Agency), cost savings, and more.
The facility will rely on "carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to incinerate municipal waste," per Environment+Energy Leader — making this a cleaner source of energy than traditional ones. Burning coal, oil, and gas for energy typically releases harmful carbon pollution into the atmosphere, bringing a host of issues, among them disease risk, mood difficulties, contaminated water, extreme weather, crop damage, and economic damage, as reported by Clarity.
The many negatives of dirty energy have businesses hard at work to find ways to sustainably power our world. CCS technology — a process that traps industrial carbon emissions before their release, compacts the carbon, then transfers it to a storage site where it can be inserted deep underground or reused — is one such method: "This forms a 'closed loop,' where the carbon is extracted from the Earth as fossil fuels and then is returned to the earth as [carbon dioxide]," explained MIT Climate Portal.
But it's not the only way that the pioneering waste-to-energy project plans to tackle toxic pollution.
Landfills are another major contributor to pollution and its destructive effects. Garbage sitting in landfills releases the heat-trapping, harmful gas methane. In the U.S., landfills are "the third-largest source of methane emissions … generated by human activity," noted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Whether from heat, wildfires, floods, respiratory illness, poor air quality, cancer, or other problematic conditions, detailed the American Lung Association, "there is no doubt that everyone's health is at risk" from methane.
It's promising to see the facility's potential to remove waste from landfills and transform trash into a critical resource. Environment+Energy Leader acknowledged this dual impact "in both waste management and renewable energy sectors" along with possibilities for the project's replication in other places: "[The] partnership positions Canada at the forefront of the global green energy transition."
Varme Energy CEO Andreas Grav Karlsen posted about the project on LinkedIn, receiving commendation and support. "Difficult for me to use the expression 'One small step…' when this is a giant step forward," wrote one commenter. "Congrats to you and the team."
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