The rush to build new canola-crushing capacity in Saskatchewan has taken a hit because Federated Co-operatives and AGT Foods and Ingredients have paused a $2-billion investment in a new plant in Regina .
The project was announced three years ago and as with other big canola-crushing investments was going to serve the U.S. biofuels market.
The project involved two plants, one to crush canola, the other to refine the oil.
But three days before U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Federated Co-operatives announced the plants were on hold, blaming escalating costs alongside “regulatory and political uncertainty” and “potential shifts in low-carbon public policy.”
After the U.S. announced its biofuels strategy in 2020, there were big investments announced between 2021 and 2023.
Viterra unveiled plans for the largest integrated canola crushing facility in the world, located in Regina. Richardson International said it would double its crush capacity at a Yorkton facility, Cargill announced a new facility with an annual production capacity of one million tonnes and Louis Dreyfus expanded its crush facility, with plans to more than double output.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe celebrated the barrage of investment, saying three years ago that the move into renewable energy from canola was emblematic of an “independent, strong and sustainable Saskatchewan.”
The promise of a canola crushing industry prompted research into what to do with the byproducts. Fish meal was one possibility.
When canola seed is crushed, 40 per cent is turned into oil, which can be used for clean fuel. The other 60 per cent is canola meal.
