Alberta government to spend $15 million on methane emissions reduction technologies

The Alberta government said it would be spending $15 million to test new technologies to try to reduce methane emissions at home and around the world. The Alberta government said it will spend $15 million on the the Natural Gas Innovation Fund Accelerator’s Emissions Testing Centre over five years. It predicted this funding will help more Alberta businesses test technologies free of charge in laboratory and live settings, attract investors, and get them to market faster. “We are a global leader in reducing methane emissions, and Alberta technologies are being used around the world,” said Alberta Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz in a Wednesday press release. “We are removing barriers so our talented start-up companies can grow their good ideas, create jobs, and support a sustainable oil and gas sector for generations to come.” The Alberta government said the Emissions Testing Centre was first established in 2021 and provides businesses with free, simulated testing space at the University of Calgary and live testing space at Tourmaline and Perpetual Energy’s West Wolf Lake Gas Plant near Edson. It added they can validate their technologies that measure, monitor, or reduce methane emissions.More than 70 companies have tested projects through the Emissions Testing Centre, helping to advance clean technologies being used across Alberta and around the world. It lacked long-term funding, so the Alberta government stepped up. At the West Wolf Lake Gas Plant, the Alberta government said it has more sensors and instrumentation than a typical gas processing facility, giving innovators access to data that is often unavailable at a typical live operation. It said businesses will have access to a network of upstream wellsites, midstream facilities, and operations.Alberta’s success in reducing methane emissions has been recognized worldwide. Last year, it hit its 45% methane emissions reduction target three years early by working with industry, including early action programs such as carbon offsets, implementation of strong provincial regulatory requirements in place for all facilities, and improved leak detection and repair.The Alberta government allocated $50 million to Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) to launch another round of a funding program dedicated to emissions reduction tools in May. READ MORE: Alberta government to spend $50 million on emissions reduction technologiesWith the Industrial Transformation Challenge (ITC), the Alberta government said it will be delivered in partnership with ERA and applications are now open. “This challenge opens a world of possibility,” said Schulz.

Alberta government to spend $15 million on methane emissions reduction technologies

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