Federated Co-operative Ltd. wants to buy $5.5M of land from City of Regina for renewable diesel plant

Federated Co-operative Limited hopes to buy almost $5.5 million worth of land from the City of Regina to build a renewable diesel plant.

The co-operative is hoping the plant will be located next to the Co-op refinery north of the city. 

City councillors are set to discuss the request at an executive committee meeting on Wednesday.

If the $5.48 million sale of the land is approved, FCL says it expects to spend between $1.5 and $2 billion to develop the plant, according to a report included in the agenda for Wednesday's meeting. There would be future potential to add elements like agriculture processing services to the plant.

According to the city's analysis, renewable diesel can help reduce emissions from long-haul transport, mass urban transit and agricultural operations. 

City administration has analyzed the climate impact of Federated Co-operative's request and found "the sale of this land has no direct impact on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions."

The city also estimates the plant would create around 1,500 temporary jobs in Regina during construction and over 150 jobs once the plant is built, and would add over half a billion dollars to Regina's gross domestic product every year. 

However, building a plant in this area would likely mean more traffic on Inland Drive and Fleet Street, and would also need significant additional infrastructure from the city, particularly water access.

City council's executive committee meets at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.