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Mr. Shenher pic (2007 first biodiesel pump article)
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Biodiesel plant moving forward
After a rough start, things are running more smoothly for Canadian Green Fuels, which operates the province's only commercial-scale biodiesel plant and, as of Wednesday, its first biodiesel pump at 1620 McAra St.
By The Leader-Post (Regina) June 29, 2007 Be the first to post a comment
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After a rough start, things are running more smoothly for Canadian Green Fuels, which operates the province's only commercial-scale biodiesel plant and, as of Wednesday, its first biodiesel pump at 1620 McAra St.

Michael Shenher, president and CEO of Canadian Green Fuels, said the privately owned company's skirmishes with various government agencies are over and it's full speed ahead for the fledgling bio-diesel producer.

"I'm not pointing fingers at the regulators,'' said Shenher, who had to shut down operations for about 90 days to make modifications to the plant to meet various federal and provincial standards and codes. "They just erred on the side of caution.''

Shenher said the company has made significant changes to the plant, including building a firewall and containment walls, to meet concerns by SaskPower, Saskatchewan Environment and other agencies.
SaskPower spokesman Larry Christie confirmed that the Crown corporation has approved plans for electrical modifications to the plant.

With roughly $3 million invested in the plant, Canadian Green Fuels is hoping to see some return on its investment. "We have no debt, we've received no subsidies or government money at all. This is going to be the model -- a 10-million-litre-a-year plant (built) for $3 million.''

And Shenher is shipping large containers of biodiesel to potential customers in the U.S., Asia and Europe for testing. While CanGreen biodiesel product meets ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards, customers want to do their own tests to ensure the product meets their requirements, he said.

Shenher, who has an MBA, also wants to sell the product in the local market. That's why CanGreen is selling biodiesel directly from the pump for the first time in Saskatchewan. "We want people TO know that it's commercially available."

But Shenher is looking forward to the day when bio-diesel will be mandated for use in all diesel fuel sold across the country. The federal government has established 2012 as the date when two per cent of all diesel sold in Canada must be bio-diesel.

"We'd like to scale up the project to supply the refineries and the bulk fuel dealers sufficient to meet the mandate when that day comes around too.''

Shenher believes it's just a matter of time before the biodiesel industry takes off and he wants to be around when it does.

"Everybody agrees this (biodiesel) is a good thing, both environmentally and for the farmers. Every litre of bio-diesel that we make is a litre of petrochemical diesel that will never be burned.''

And he praised the provincial government for its recently announced SaskBIO program, which will provide $80 million in repayable contributions over four years for biofuels projects in the province.

But Shenher, who ran unsuccessfully for the Saskatchewan Party in the last election, would like to see the province remove the 15-cent-a-litre road tax on biodiesel, as it did for the ethanol industry. At 99 cents a litre, bio-diesel can be a tough sell.

"We're not looking for handouts, but just a level playing field with other renewable fuels and with other provinces."

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