Now that's the way it should be done. In Medicine Hat, Alberta, thermal black producer Cancarb Ltd. had a problem. Demand for the company's niche product, thermal black, was growing beyond its capacity to produce the material. Cancarb previously expanded its facility, but this time management contemplated an overseas project as the most cost-effective way to boost capacity.
If that was the decision, it wouldn't be good for the city of Medicine Hat. No community wants to see a local business put its investment elsewhere.
At the same time, TransCanada Power needed a new power plant.
The solution to these problems is a cooperative agreement that shows a lot of innovation.
Here's the deal: Cancarb will build an addition at its Medicine Hat plant that will expand its production capacity by 25 percent. TransCanada Power will build the 38-megawatt power plant next door, fueled by waste heat generated by Cancarb's operations. The city will buy the electricity from the power plant.
So Cancarb gets its expansion, along with an environmentally sound way to eliminate virtually all carbon emissions; TransCanada Power gets a needed facility and a fuel source; and the city of Medicine Hat gains $56 million worth of expansions, 25 jobs and a source of energy.