A public-private partnership in Quebec plans to build a waste-to-energy plant in Varennes.

The Quebec government said it would invest $27 million in the province’s first full-scale commercial cellulosic ethanol plant. The facility will be built and operated through a joint venture partnership between Montreal-based Enerkem Inc. and Toronto-based GreenField Ethanol Inc., Enerkem said in a news release.

The plant will use Enerkem’s proprietary technology to turnnon-recyclable municipal solid waste into biofuels. Enerkem also has a waste-to-biofuels facility under construction in Mississippi and another in Edmonton, Alberta.

The facility is located on the site of the current plant of GreenField, a Canadian leader in alcohol production.

The non-recyclable waste will come from institutional, commercial and industrial operations, as well as from construction and demolition debris.

"By producing liquid transportation fuel from non-recyclable waste, this facility opens the door to the emergence of a new energy sector and will allow for local sustainable management of our waste materials," said Vincent Chornet, Enerkem president and CEO.