A project in southern New Brunswick that would make natural gas out of farm and fish waste is working on final plans and permits.
Project to derive natural gas from dairy manure and aquaculture waste gets environmental approval
A proposed project in southern New Brunswick that would convert dairy farm manure and aquaculture fish waste into natural gas has been given provincial environmental impact assessment approval about five months after its application was filed.
The speed of the process “was a nice surprise,” said Scott Walton, one of three partners in Bio Voltex, the company proposing to build the plant on unzoned agricultural land, off Highway 114 in Penobsquis.
“We know of a lot of projects around Canada that are two to three years to go through that process.”
The plant would be capable of processing 135,000 tonnes of waste per year and making 200,000 gigajoules of natural gas, according to documents filed with the Department of Environment and Local Government.
“Basically, the material will decompose, it'll release methane, we'll clean up that gas and then inject it into the pipeline," Walton said.
How much electricity that could generate depends on the technology used, but if burned, it would heat a few thousand homes.
Air and water quality, noise conditions attached
The approval is subject to 17 conditions.
Notably, an environmental management plan is required that covers what will happen if there are problems with odour, air quality, water quality or noise.
In the event of complaints, the conditions say Bio Voltex may be required to investigate and take necessary actions at its own expense.
If a neighbour’s water supply is affected, the approval certificate says, the proponent will have to provide a temporary water supply or repair or replace the well.
The plant would be located about three kilometres from the Picadilly Potash Mines, the last of which shut down in 2016.
The company distributed project information to about 60 nearby residents on Canada Packers Road , Hwy 114 between Canada Packers Road and Royal Gardens Road, Penobsquis Road, Church Road and at Three Bears Family Camping and RV Park, it said in a public engagement report.
CBC requested interviews with their local government representatives, the Kings Rural District council, but they declined.
The engagement report included a letter submitted by a resident who expressed concern that the rural farming community was being turned into an industrial park without proper infrastructure or regulations to protect neighbours.
Another letter was submitted by the Kennebecasis Watershed Restoration Committee.
It noted the proposed location is on a flood plain and asked why risks to aquatic environments, including sensitive trout habitat, were not fully assessed and how stormwater leaving the site would be managed.
The company replied that the project is beyond aquatic buffer zones and stormwater is not expected to discharge from the site into watercourses or wetlands. It said mitigation measures would be in place to prevent spill impacts and a storm water pond would be designed to accommodate extreme weather events.
The watershed group asked for water monitoring in aquifers near the site. The company said it's not planning to do that because there's "limited potential" for any impact on ground water.
The watershed group suggested a single-day biodiversity study on site in late November 2025 was insufficient. The company said the site was already "heavily disturbed" and doesn't have much habitat that could support rare wildlife.
The watershed group asked how often flaring could be expected and how toxic hydrogen sulfide gas would be monitored.
The company responded that air quality monitoring was not planned because it doesn't expect standards will be exceeded at any time. It said hydrogen sulfide would be reduced by oxygen injection and activated carbon vessels and a flare would only be used for short periods in emergencies.
'Potential benefits'
Sussex-Three Rivers MLA Tammy Scott-Wallace said she has received about one email a month from a constituent who is concerned about the potential odour.
"I think people are on high alert, and I can understand why," she said, noting the area already has some odour problems from other businesses.
Scott-Wallace said, overall, there had not been much opposition to the project.
"The community sees a lot of potential benefits," she said, including an opportunity for farmers to get rid of waste.
The company acknowledged in the public consultation report that some local farms had withdrawn their participation, but said it had secured an adequate supply of waste for 20-years, the expected life of the plant.
In the last few months, Bio Voltex signed contracts with seven farms and aquaculture companies, said Walton, who declined to be more specific about the suppliers but said they are located all over New Brunswick.
Fertilizer would be made as a byproduct, he said, and it would be distributed back to the farms.
CBC has asked Bio Voltex whether any farms in the local Penobsquis or Sussex area are participating and whether it's possible that waste may be brought in from other provinces, but has not yet received a response.
Bio Voltex has said it is spending heavily on odour control and has designed the plant using best practices from similar plants around the world that emit no detectable odours.
Those assurances don't mean much to some people who lived near a former shellfish processing plant in Richibucto.
"It sounds awfully similar to a lot of the promises that we were given," said Maisie McNaughton, who was involved in a multi-year campaign against bad odours from a plant that processed lobster shells to make fertilizer and extract chitosan, a natural polymer used in agriculture, wine making and medicine.
"If you have [115,000] to 135,000 tonnes of things like cow manure ... and fish byproduct ... that's very concerning in my mind."
McNaughton would like to see a more robust public consultation process before potentially foul-smelling projects get off the ground, as well as updates to the Clean Air Act to limit bad odours.
Mi'kmaq see no issues
Walton said his partners have attempted to share information widely and address concerns, including with Indigenous groups.
The Mi’kmaw group MTI confirmed it put the Bio Voltex project through an assessment and determined it would have a low impact on Mi’kmaw rights, said Raven Boyer, communications co-ordinator.
The Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick confirmed it had been engaged by Bio Voltex about the Penobsquis project and said it sees no issues with it at this time.
The gas will stay in New Brunswick, said Walton, and be used by a single buyer to generate electricity.
N.B. Power says it is still in discussions with Bio Voltex, which could possibly supply fuel that costs less and emits less than fossil fuels.
N.B. Power spokesperson Elizabeth Fraser-McAllister said in an email that the utility is also looking at the Penobsquis project as a way to offset emissions associated with its Tantramar project, which would burn natural gas to generate electricity.
Reducing carbon emissions
Walton said carbon credits would be sold through an energy commodity house. The plant would reduce emissions by the equivalent of 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, he said.
Annual provincial emissions are 12.8 million tonnes, according to the most recent figures from the federal and provincial governments, which date from 2024.
The carbon intensity calculation considers vehicles transporting materials, electricity used in the biogas plant and the pipeline, combustion by the end user to generate electricity and how that all compares to the gases that would be generated otherwise, said Walton.
“On a farm today … they scrape the dairy manure and put it into an open lagoon. And then that material basically starts breaking down and emitting methane,” he said.
Material diverted from composters and landfills also counts in the carbon calculation, he said.
The approval conditions say Bio Voltex must file a report on its greenhouse gas emissions after its first year in operation.
Other conditions listed in the approval are standard things such as filing plans for watercourse alterations and fire protection and getting a construction permit.
Walton expected all final planning and permitting would be complete in time to start construction in late October.
Scott-Wallace, the MLA, said she asked Bio Voltex to consider hosting another public meeting to provide a final update before construction and routine updates are expected either by a newsletter or social media.
Walton said grading, trenching and possibly pouring foundation are planned for this fall, depending on the weather, and construction could be complete in about a year.
The other two partners in the project are Amir Akbari and Farough Motasemi, Fredericton engineers who have also developed technology for modelling and optimizing biogas operations.
Their company Anessa won an award from Opportunities New Brunswick last year after international growth in France.
