Cielo secures financing for Edmonton area facility

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based Cielo Waste Solutions says it has signed a letter of intent to secure a CDN$10 million ($7.9 million) convertible loan to finance the purchase of land near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, for a waste-and-scrap-to-fuels facility.

The company says a purchased site near Edmonton “will be used for Cielo’s planned 100-percent-owned waste to high grade renewable fuel facility.” Adds the firm, “Cielo will have the discretion to use the balance of the funds as needed, including to repay in whole or in part Cielo’s largest secured lender, which is currently owed approximately CDN$3.8 million ($3 million).”

“We are truly happy to be able to announce that we are commencing a 100 percent owned Cielo facility ahead of schedule,” states Don Allan, president and CEO of the firm. “We have selected the area for the new facility and will start immediately on negotiating the purchase. The site is located close to both CN and CP rail, major diesel refineries (clients) and feedstock supply [sources].”

Cielo describes its feedstock as potentially consisting of “household, commercial, construction [and] demolition garbage, used tires, railway ties, as well as all types of plastic that currently cannot be recycled.”

Allan says the Edmonton area plant, as conceived, will carry a CDN$50 million ($39.5 million) overall price tag and will “initially be engineered to produce annually approximately 33 million liters of high-grade renewable diesel, which at today’s prices is approximately CDN$55 million ($43.4 million) in annual revenue.”

The firm’s CEO also has announced that on Feb. 23 Cielo “had our first major sale of renewable diesel, and now with Cielo buying the expansion land for cash and ahead of schedule, while clearing up its existing balance sheet, Cielo is having an amazing start to 2021 and is poised to continue strong growth on all fronts.”

Adds Allan about the diesel fuel sale, “After several years of advancing our waste-to-high-grade-renewable-fuel technology, we are finally in a position to start reaping the rewards of our efforts. These revenues are expected to put Cielo into immediate positive cash flow.”

In addition to the proposed Edmonton site, Cielo operates a pilot-scale plant in Aldersyde, Alberta.