Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) says it is committing $58.4 million for 20 projects worth over $155 million to improve the cost competitiveness and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Alberta’s natural gas sector. Alberta's Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon and Associate Minister of Natural Gas and Electricity Dale Nally, announced the finalists of the Natural Gas Challenge with ERA CEO Steve MacDonald at the opening of the Maximizing Funding Potential Workshop presented by ERA and Alberta Innovates.
If successful, these technology innovations will reportedly lead to cumulative GHG reductions of almost one million tons of CO₂e by 2030—equivalent to the GHG emissions from 750,000 passenger vehicles driven for one year. It is anticipated these projects will also deliver approximately 760 new jobs, according to ERA.
The Natural Gas Challenge was launched in October 2019. It was open to projects involving technologies at the pilot, demonstration or first-of-kind commercial deployment stages. ERA’s selection committee reviewed 117 submissions. Twenty projects were selected for their potential to “unlock innovation” across Alberta’s natural gas value chain, from production to the end consumer. Funding is being sourced from the carbon price paid by Large Final Emitters in Alberta through the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.
For more information, visit: www.eralberta.ca
