Waste Management Invests in Canadian Waste-to-Energy Firm

Waste Management Inc. and an investment firm are buying a minority interest in a Canadian waste-to-energy company.

Houston-based Waste Management and EB Investments have invested $14.6 million for a minority equity interest in Enerkem Alberta Biofuels L.P., a subsidiary of Montreal-based Enerkem Inc. Enerkem Alberta is building a biofuels facility in Edmonton that will use gas from the city’s landfill to produce renewable fuels and chemicals for local markets.

Waste Management is not disclosing its specific amount of the investment or the percentage holding it is buying, said Wes Muir, director of corporate communications, in an e-mail.

Construction of the plant is under way, and the facility is targeted to be one the first full-scale advanced biofuels facilities built in North America, Enerkem said in a news release.

Total financing for the facility is $99.2 million.

Enerkem said it is developing several similar facilities in the U.S. and Canada that will convert municipal solid waste into biofuels and chemicals.