Situated in the prime Canola growing region in the heart of Alberta, a Regional Energy Centre will emerge based on renewable energy as a comprehensive working model of discovery, development and distribution of alternative energy systems for Canada.

The Regional Energy Centre will be founded on four columns:

• Industrial plant: oil crushing plant / biodiesel plant / electrical generation / pelletizing plant for animal food
• Campus: academy, university & research centre for renewable energies & environmental management
• Business centre: for companies investing and / or working in this field
• Conference & hospitality area

Phase one of the project will focus on the Industrial Crushing Plant and piston electrical generation plant. Phase two will be the biodiesel production plant, domestic animal food pelletizing plant plus a combined heat and power distribution energy plant. Phase three and final stage of the project will be a worldwide reputed university centre for research & development, education, conference and business centre in relation with renewable energy sources. The areas focused on will mainly be environmental science, agriculture science, animal science, biofuel and alternative energy from agrifuel and waste feed stocks.

Strategy of the project:

These four areas will be independent but profit from each other due to a multitude of synergies:

• The spreading of high level knowledge boosts the economic growth of the region and helps          renewable energy to get accepted
• The research centre can use the knowledge of the industrial production plant for pilot tests
• The industrial plant can use the latest research findings for an optimized production
• The academy can teach the students directly on the plant
• The business centre provides office space for research & development funds, established operating companies across the industry and new start-up companies in the field of renewable energies and environmental management

Advantages of the project:

The Town and County of Stettler are located in Central Alberta. The nearest border to the US is just 400 km away and the next sea port is in Vancouver, at a distance of 1,200 km. The agricultural region around Stettler is a part of the western Canola belt of Canada. Therefore Stettler is an ideal location for a Canola based regional energy production, research and education centre with the following advantages:

• secure feedstock supply - located in the Canadian Canola belt
• creation of jobs and economic growth in the region
• strong support by the County of Stettler, Town of Stettler and the government of Alberta
• farmers as partners
• sufficient development land, ideally located in the outskirts of Stettler with all required connections
• the County of Stettler and Town of Stettler are customers for electrical energy and district heating
• high potential due to growing biodiesel market on the American continent
• reduction of green house gases (CO2 balance)