The Canadian Biogas Association releases the first national Anaerobic Digestion Guideline in Canada

The Canadian Biogas Association (CBA), an important organization acting as the voice of the biogas industry in Canada, released on December 11 the final version of their national Anaerobic Digestion Guideline document for facilities that process food and organic waste materials in Canada. Created by the industry for the industry, the Guideline aims to help developers and other stakeholders to adopt best practices for planning, design and operating their projects.

This is the first Guideline for AD facilities published in Canada, and it will make it easier for the industry to build efficient biogas plants with positive benefits for the population and environment. The goal is to remove barriers and support the growth of the biogas industry and the green economy in Canada.

More precisely, the CBA aims to, with this Guideline:

• Present clearly the best practices for biogas projects;
• Help developers and stakeholders with the regulatory process and remove barriers;
• Inform proponents of ways to minimize or prevent, using buffers or other control measures, the exposure of any person, property, plant or animal life to adverse effects associated with the operation of food and organic waste AD facilities.

The CBA started working on the Guideline after realizing there was a gap. Indeed, over 20 AD Guidelines or supporting documents existed in Europe, Australia, and the US. Canada did not provide any guidelines of the sort to help its developers and other stakeholders with their projects.

At the beginning of 2019, the CBA sent a draft of the Guideline to key industry stakeholders across Canada to receive feedback. The document was well-received amongst the industry. Valuable contributions came from CBA’s members, biogas industry colleagues, government departments, industry organizations and representatives in agriculture, municipal and private interest sectors.

“Now, a first of kind Canadian AD Guideline offers technical guidance to support continued development of biogas projects in Canada. The CBA would like to thank committee members and stakeholders for their contributions and interest in the development of this important resource,” writes the Canadian Biogas Association on their Website.

Biogas production from food and organic waste has an important potential in Canada for the energy transition and the economy. Indeed, many provinces such as British-Columbia and Quebec banned or are planning to ban organics from landfills.

Quebec set the minimum quantity of renewable natural gas in the natural gas grid to 1% in 2020 and 5% in 2025. Renewable natural gas is produced from the upgrading of biogas and will help the province to reduce its GHG emissions. As these market drivers could propel the industry forward in the next years, this Guideline will no doubt offer a framework to help developers from all over Canada optimizing their projects.

If you want to receive a copy of the Canadian AD Guideline, please contact the Canadian Biogas Association. To learn more about the CBA, visit their Website here.