General Motors Proposes Renewable Energy Project at St. Catharines Propulsion Plant

December 14, 2017

General Motors of Canada is proposing to build a 6.4 megawatt co-generation plant that will use renewable landfill gas as fuel to generate electricity and recover thermal energy to power and heat its St. Catharines Propulsion Plant. 

This project is a partnership with Alectra Utilities, Integrated Gas Recovery Services and the TargetGHG program funded by the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science which is administered by Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE). 

“Supporting the efforts of large industries in their quest to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions is an important part of our government’s Climate Change Action Plan,” says Reza Moridi, Minister of Research, Innovation and Science. “With the help of our province’s innovative cleantech companies, the TargetGHG program will help build a prosperous, low carbon economy and create a cleaner, more sustainable future for Ontario.”

The proposed project will reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 77 per cent and lower energy electrical costs, improving the facility’s long-term competitiveness.

Once online in mid-2019, clean energy will power approximately 32 per cent of the St. Catharines’ plant – the most of any of GM’s global population operations worldwide.

“With the support of OCE, Alectra Utilities, and IGRS, this proposed co-generation project will enable GM Canada and our partners to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from our St Catharines operations while significantly lowering our plant energy operating costs,” said David Paterson, Vice President of Corporate and Environmental Affairs, GM.

The project will serve as Ontario’s first complete renewable landfill gas industrial co-generation system that delivers renewable landfill gas from an offsite source and distributes it via a dedicated pipeline to a co-generation plant located at a large industrial facility.

General Motors’ renewable energy use spans decades. The company is a founding member of the Renewable Thermal Collaborative – an initiative of the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance – to share best practices and increase awareness of renewable thermal technologies. GM committed to power all of its global operations’ electricity with 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. Greater use of thermal energy helps address heating and cooling needs to further reduce emissions.

For more information on GM’s environmental commitment, visit its sustainability report and environmental blog.