Coal and petroleum coke have powered this kiln for decades. At Bowmanville, the process of replacing a meaningful share of those fuels with energy recovered from non-recyclable industrial byproducts is already generating measurable results, regulated by the Province of Ontario and reported publicly at every stage.
Cement kilns run hot, and they run constantly. The fuel required to sustain that process has traditionally been achieved by burning large amounts of coal and petroleum coke. At Bowmanville, we are working to change that.
This initiative replaces a share of those traditional fuels with energy recovered from non-hazardous, non-recyclable byproducts: materials derived from industrial and post-consumer sources that cannot be recycled and would otherwise go to landfill. Through co-processing, a regulated technology operating under Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act, the kiln captures both the energy and mineral content of those materials, helping to reduce CO2 emissions at the source and diverting waste from disposal.
The program has not been an easy one. In 2018, the Bowmanville plant completed a formal Alternative Fuel Demonstration Trial under Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECAs) issued by the Province of Ontario. The trial ran from September to December of that year, testing alternative fuel use against baseline environmental conditions under regulatory oversight. The data from that trial became the foundation for the current application to expand the program.
The expansion proposes to increase daily alternative fuel throughput from 100 tonnes per day to 400 tonnes per day, and to broaden the approved fuel types to include biomass, cellulosic, and plastic materials from non-hazardous, non-recyclable sources. New equipment would feed the alternative fuels into the kiln, with enclosed on-site storage added as part of the infrastructure. Moving from a completed demonstration trial to a full-scale expansion application is what Act with Ownership requires: understanding the process, measuring the results honestly, and following through on what the data supports.
Questions about the Bowmanville project are welcome. Our Environmental Manager Canada is available by phone and can add you to the contact list for future updates. A community committee reviews local input and provides ongoing project updates to residents and stakeholders in the area.
Open Dialogue is a principle we take seriously here. If you have a question, a concern, or simply want to understand what this project involves, reach out.
Permits, environmental filings, and supporting studies for the Bowmanville alternative fuels project are available. These include the Environmental Compliance Approvals issued by the Province of Ontario under the Environmental Protection Act (ECA Numbers 4614-826K9W and 1255-7QVJ2N), results from the 2018 demonstration trial, and materials from the ALCF study currently underway.
For broader environmental reporting on the Bowmanville plant, the Community Relations Committee page has additional resources and reports.
Once the public comment process for this initiative is confirmed, this section will outline how to submit your input and when responses will be shared.
United Materials
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