Alberta's Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson has announced changes meant to help the biogas industry. Photo credit: Government of Alberta.

By Curtis Galbraith

Agriculture

Province says legislative changes will mean more agriculture waste going to the biogas industry

Mar 19, 2025 | 2:41 PM

The provincial government is going to make changes to some legislation it says will help support the biogas industry.

The changes to the Agricultural Operation Practices Act, if approved, would allow organic waste produced by agriculture operations to be sent to biogas plants.

The province says in a news release that 3.4 million tonnes of such waste are produced every year, with most of it being manure and food processing waste.

Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson says things like crop residue and vegetable waste that can’t be used to feed animals are instead sent to landfills.

“This needlessly creates waste and fills municipal landfills with organic material but there is a better way,” Sigurdson says. “We have a huge opportunity to divert these materials to the biogas industries, which is looking for feedstock.”

The biogas plants would use it to make heat, electricity and natural gas.

The material left, called digestate, could then be used for fertilizer.

The province says this material would be used to supplement other fertilizers.

The government adds that digestate is currently governed by a memorandum of understating between provincial ministries and the Natural Resources Conservation Board and making it legislation means more certainty for industry.

Two cattle industry groups quoted in the government’s release are in support of this idea.

Alberta Cattle Feeders Association board member Chad Meunier says cattle feeders spending money on biodigesters is a win-win not only for feedlots, but for the environment.

He adds this is because feedlots would be able to “capture methane, reduce our environmental footprint and turn waste into renewable energy.”

Alberta Beef Producers vice-chair Kent Holowath says that the changes will “remove barriers (and) create new energy efficient income opportunities,” something he thinks will benefit consumers and producers.