Atco will build its first renewable natural gas facility in Alberta

Calgary-based Atco Energy Solutions says it will build its first renewable natural gas facility in Alberta.

The facility will be built north of Vegrevilleand should be up and running by late 2022. It will capture methane emissions from manure and other organic waste to produce fuel.

Atco says the facility will produce enough natural gas to heat 2,500 homes per year and reduce carbon emissions by 20,000 tonnes annually.

Vegreville-based biofuels company Future Fuel Ltd. will partner with Atco to develop the project.

The company says the project will help it meet its sustainability targets. In addition to renewable natural gas, it is also investing in hydrogen. The company is partnering with Suncor Energy on a potential hydrogen project to be built near Fort Saskatchewan.

Atco says that project could produce more than 300,000 tonnes per year of hydrogen and reduce Alberta's carbon emissions by more than two million tonnes per year. The project is still in the early design stage.