Prince George-Mackenzie Conservative MLA Kiel Giddens has taken Energy Minister Adrian Dix to task on X (formerly Twitter) for pushing through wind projects while letting an issue with renewable diesel languish.
"The current Act has created an unfair and uncompetitive renewable diesel credit market in BC leading to dumping of American renewable diesel into our province,” Giddens said in a release posted to the website.
On Monday, the province approved a new wind project that will see new turbines installed near Hixon through a partnership between Lheidli T'enneh First Nation and a Spanish company, Ecoener.
In a press release, Giddens said that changes are needed to keep businesses like Tidewater Renewables’ diesel refinery in Prince George viable.
Reached by phone in Victoria on Tuesday Dec. 10, Giddens said there are Louisiana-based renewable diesel producers who receive subsidies through the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act who then receive further subsidies in BC, allowing them to undercut local producers.
"We are calling on the NDP to get back to the Legislature to pass my private member's bill to close this loophole before this unfair advantage leads to job losses in my community."
His bill, he said, would account for that “double dipping” by reducing BC’s subsidies by the amount producers are receiving from other sources.
“It’s making sure that we are protecting BC jobs and supporting a fair trade market for this,” Giddens said of his bill.
“Really, we want these jobs here at home in BC and not to rely on importing renewable diesel. This is about energy security as well. There’s very limited refining capacity in total in British Columbia and if this strategic asset is at risk, it impacts our fuel prices.”
The $430 million refinery that opened in 2023 makes renewable diesel from canola oil, tallow, used cooking oil and tall oil. However, the diesel produced is not considered biodiesel because it is molecularly identical to conventional diesel.
When The Citizen reported on the refinery’s opening, former Tidewater CEO Rob Colcleugh was quoted as saying that the project was only made possibly because of the credits the company was receiving under the province’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which is the umbrella term for both the Low Carbon Fuels Act and its associated regulations.
The MLA pointed to a third-quarter financial report Tidewater issued last month. The company reported a loss in that quarter of approximately $367 million. In that same quarter last year, the company posted a loss of just $9.5 million.
The company said it was speaking with both the provincial and federal governments about improvements they could make to low-carbon fuel regulations “in an effort to improve liquidity and pricing stability for emissions credits.”
“Further, the corporation has engaged external trade law counsel for the purpose of advising on and preparing a trade remedy complaint against renewable diesel imports from U.S. that management believes are unfairly priced and having a significant negative impact the competitiveness of our domestic operations,” the report said.
Should the regulations not be changed and nothing comes of the trade complaint, the company said it “will be compelled to consider alternative strategies to address the challenges facing the business.
“Additionally, if there are no indications of demand and price recovery in the emissions credit market by that time, the Corporation may need to take actions to ensure its financial stability and sustainability.”
Those actions could involve the selling of assets, corporate restructuring and seeking alternative debt and equity financing.
“Should these efforts ultimately prove insufficient or unsuccessful, the corporation's ability to continue as a going concern may be in jeopardy,” the report concludes.
Given what BC has already put into Tidewater’s Prince George refinery, Giddens said it would a waste if it were to shut down and its 165 jobs were to be lost.
Offering support for Giddens’ bill in the release were Prince George-Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird and Prince George-North Cariboo MLA Sheldon Clare as well as Opposition Leader John Rustad.
Going forward, Giddens said he and his colleagues would continue pressuring the government to take action on the file and that he would be dropping off a draft copy of his bill at Dix’s office while he’s in the provincial capital.
Editor's note: This was originally posted online as part of a longer story on local energy industry updates, but has been split off into its own article.
