Sussex area could become home to biogas and fertilizer plant
Bio Voltex is seeking approval for a plant in Penobsquis, New Brunswick, that would turn farm and fish waste into natural gas and fertilizer. The company says construction could begin this fall and gas could start flowing in the first quarter of 2028.
A proposed agri-energy project in Penobsquis near Sussex, New Brunswick, is moving into the environmental review stage after Bio Voltex filed for an impact assessment and presented the plan at a public meeting attended by roughly 60 to 70 people. The company was formed in 2024, and chief executive Scott Walton said the local response so far has been encouraging as the project enters a more formal approval process.
The plant would take in chicken and dairy manure from nearby farms together with fish waste from around the province. That material would decompose in a concrete digester, the gas would be cleaned, and then injected into a pipeline. Walton said the facility is designed to produce about 180,000 gigajoules of natural gas and 100,000 tonnes of fertilizer a year. He also said the gas would be sold to a single buyer under a 20-year arrangement, although the agreement cannot be finalized until the environmental process is complete. N.B. Power confirmed it is in early exploratory discussions with Bio Voltex.
The company argues the project could reduce organic waste going to landfill, cut methane emissions from manure, lower dependence on imported gas and help ease fertilizer costs for farmers. Odour is the main local concern, and Walton said that is reflected in the budget. The project is estimated to cost $40 million, with around $4 million earmarked for odour-control systems. Waste would be transported under cover, unloaded indoors into closed pits, and handled in buildings equipped with negative-pressure ventilation and air filtration.
Walton said he has toured similar plants in France, Canada and the United States and that odours are virtually undetectable outside the buildings when plants are operated properly. He added that about four trucks a day would reach the site via the highway and a private road so nearby residential streets would be avoided. Local MLA Tammy Scott-Wallace said residents in the area are familiar with farming smells and also with natural gas because of the nearby McCully gas field, while pipeline infrastructure is already in place through Headwater Exploration, formerly Corridor Resources.
The discussion around the project also highlighted existing examples in the province. Fredericton landfill already captures methane from decomposing garbage and can generate enough energy for about 2,300 homes, according to Brad Janes of the Capital Region Solid Waste Commission. Another example is Laforge Bioenvironmental in the Grand Falls area, where an 800-acre farm with about 300 cows has been making biogas and fertilizer substitute since 2010 using farm waste and industrial food scraps, including material connected to nearby food processing.
Supporters say the proposed Penobsquis facility could be especially useful for the farming community around Sussex because farms would be able to dispose of waste without tipping fees and later receive fertilizer at no cost. Scott-Wallace said that matters at a time when fertilizer has become significantly more expensive and the region has been looking for new economic activity since the potash mine closure. Walton said construction would require up to 110 workers, while regular operations would need about 20 staff, including operators, engineers and roughly 15 truck drivers. He is aiming for environmental approval within months, a fall construction start and first gas in the first quarter of 2028, with a community liaison group to be set up as the project advances.