A $6 billion net-zero carbon emission expansion of Dow’s Fort Saskatchewan facility means thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue, says Mayor Gale Katchur.

The company announced plans this week to more than triple its ethylene and polyethylene capacity at the site, while retrofitting it all to net-zero carbon emissions.

Dow will be converting off-gas from its ethylene cracker into hydrogen as a clean fuel to be used in the production process, and carbon dioxide that will be captured and sent to be permanently stored underground.

Dow has already been testing this technology at its Freeport, Texas facility.

This investment, expected to begin by 2023 and continue through until 2030, will bring up to 6,000 construction jobs to the site, as well as new permanent jobs, Katchur says.

It will also bring millions in new tax dollars to town, she adds, redeveloping a big part of Dow’s Fort Saskatchewan site that has been unused for some time.

That the whole project is also net-zero carbon emission also points to how our area will continue to prosper even in a low-carbon economy, Katchur says.

“This will ensure our community will be sustainable for years to come.”

Dow says it decided to invest in Fort Saskatchewan because of the availability of carbon capture infrastructure, competitive feedstocks and government cooperation.

A new tax incentive program approved last year that gives industrial projects up to 80 per cent off their municipal tax bill for up to 10 years, seems to have sealed the deal, Katchur says. She credits work by the Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association and Fort Saskatchewan’s own Director of Economic Development, Mark Morrissey, with selling the plan to Dow officials.

“We’ve been working with Dow on this for five years,” she says.

The deal means Dow will pay very little new tax when the new facility starts up, and gradually pay more each year, until there is no discount, Katchur explains.

The investment is still subject to approval by Dow’s Board of Directors and various regulatory agencies.