University of Winnipeg’s Brandyn Berg, who looks after energy management and special projects at the downtown university says they’re very excited about their new biomass heating system and hope it gets more thinking about using renewable 
energy sources.

University pioneering urban biomass heating

The University of Winnipeg’s new biomass heating system will be a model for other institutions, 
say proponents of alternative energy sources

When school starts this fall, the University of Winnipeg will flip the switch on a novel way to keep downtown buildings heated — with boilers that burn wood pellets. Last fall the downtown university took delivery of two 100-kilowatt biomass boilers, to provide supplementary heating a steam plant now provides for its Ashdown, Manitoba and


Looming hydro rate increases have municipal leaders worried about the rising costs to operate community infrastructure.

Carbon tax revenue use options pitched at AMM

Rural and small-town government leaders pass resolutions, propose ideas for recycling carbon taxes at 2017 fall convention

Municipal leaders in Manitoba bracing for future hydro rate increases want the province to use carbon tax revenues to offset the higher costs to their energy bills. It’s costing a small fortune now to heat spaces like public arenas and curling clubs, said Al Abraham, deputy mayor of the LGD of Pinawa. Read more: AMM

At Ag Days in January Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced legislation to streamline KAP’s checkoff. The legislation went from second reading to Royal Assent in just four and a half days and will take effect Dec. 1.

Streamlined, improved KAP checkoff takes effect Dec. 1

Bill 35 went from second reading to Royal assent in just four and a half days

The Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) will have an improved membership checkoff in place Dec. 1, the start of its new fiscal year, thanks to legislation that was passed and given royal assent Nov. 9 and 10, respectively. Bill 35, the Agricultural Producers Organizations Funding Act, passed third reading unanimously in Manitoba legislature, following a marathon

Door opens to hog expansion

Door opens to hog expansion

Anaerobic digesters out, new barns in

New hog barns will be built Manitoba. After an all-night session at the Manitoba Legislature, Bill 24 has passed its final reading and received royal assent. Better known as the Red Tape Reduction and Government Efficiency Act, Bill 24 covers legislation ranging from consumer protection and labour relations, to residential tenancies and transportation of dangerous


The Manitoba Canola Growers Association thinks an opportunity could exist for canola producers to sell their product into the biodiesel market.

Carbon tax could translate into more demand for canola

“Nobody like taxes… but there is also going to be some opportunities,” as a result of Manitoba’s climate and green plan, Manitoba Canola Growers Association (MCGA) president Chuck Fossay told the Keystone Agricultural Producers’ advisory council Nov. 2. While the plan includes a flat $25-a-tonne carbon tax starting sometime next year, it also says if

Tom Noffsinger introduces the basics of low-stress cattle handling during a talk in Brandon Oct. 16.  

Workshops pitch less stress for cattle and farmer

Talks and workshops cover the basics of low-stress cattle handling

It’s time to start thinking like cattle when it comes to moving animals. That’s the message Tom Noffsinger had for cattle producers during a string of low-stress cattle-handling workshops and talks near Brandon through the end of October. Three events were put on through Merck Animal Health, including a public talk Oct. 16 and field

Agriculture major player in ‘Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan’

Agriculture major player in ‘Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan’

Increasing the biodiesel mandate could cut up to 431,000 tonnes of carbon by 2022, second only to reductions expected from the $25-a-tonne carbon tax

Agriculture’s role in reducing carbon emissions and protecting the environment looms large in the provincial government’s, Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan. The word “agriculture” appears 34 times in the 60-page document. “Manitoba’s farmers are at the front lines of climate change and need to be at the forefront of solutions,” the plan says. “The Manitoba


New research may be paving the way to more efficiently converting biomass like cornstalks into biofuels.

Cutting the cost of ethanol

Researchers devise a way to reduce the amount of enzymes needed to convert biomass into biofuels

Biofuels like ethanol could get cheaper if new research from Rutgers and Michigan State universities holds up. Scientists there have demonstrated how to design and genetically engineer enzyme surfaces so they bind less to cornstalks and other cellulosic biomass, reducing enzyme costs in biofuels production, according to a study published in the journal ACS Sustainable

Over 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste are created globally each year. A new process promises to make converting it to fertilizer and fuel more efficient in cold climates.

Cold-loving bacteria turns food waste into energy and fertilizer

Canada’s frigid winters have always limited 
using natural processes to convert waste

Researchers from Montreal’s Concordia University say they’ve found a way to process waste into resources in colder climes. They’re using cold-tolerant bacteria to fuel the process. In a study published in the journal Process Safety and Environmental Protection, authors Rajinikanth Rajagopal, David Bellavance and Mohammad Saifur Rahaman demonstrate the viability of using anaerobic digestion in