Canadian Premium shifts from oilpatch drilling to solar manufacturing with new facility

Canadian Premium shifts from oilpatch drilling to solar manufacturing

with new facility By Paul Adair

Last December, Calgary-based Canadian Premium Sand announced that Selkirk was its preferred choice for a proposed patterned solar glass plant − a first of its kind facility in Canada.

For a number of years previous, the company had been working to develop a silica sand quarry near the community of Seymourville and Hollow Water First Nation, which has already voiced its support for the project. The sand was originally intended for use in supporting hydraulic fracturing (fracking) within the oil and natural gas industry, but the volatility of the oil & gas market, combined with an oversupply of frac sand, presented an opportunity to explore alternatives uses for the company’s high-quality sand.

“In making solar glass, we could increase the value of each grain of sand by 15 times compared to selling it to the frac sand business. And for a single manufacturing plant, like the one we are proposing, we would need less than 150,000 tonnes of sand per year,” says Glenn Leroux, President & CEO at Canadian Premium Sand.

“So that’s a tenth of the extraction rate and 15 times the added value of frac sand! Just on that economic basis alone, it would make zero sense to use this valuable resource for fraccing.”

The ultra-high silica/low iron content is what makes this Manitoba sand uniquely special. And as one of only four similar sand deposits currently in North America, the importance of this particular quarry − just 160 kilometres north of Winnipeg − cannot be overstated, especially for use in the manufacture of solar glass.

“The solar glass industry requires glass with a very low iron content of less than 100 parts per million, which allows us to produce the ultra-clear glass required by solar panel manufacturers,” says Leroux. “This is an emerging market that’s forecasted to grow at a rate of 20 per cent annually, and one that shows no sign of slowing down. Plus, we will be the only producer of this type of glass in North America, as all this type of glass is currently imported

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from Asia-Pacific suppliers. At the forecasted rate of growth, we could build a new plant every few years and still not exceed 20 per cent of the North American demand for our glass.”

There are several factors that set Selkirk up as the best location for the proposed manufacturing plant. Selkirk is the closest sizeable community to the sand deposit and has easy access to both trucking and rail service. Other selling features include access to natural gas services, renewable hydroelectricity, industrial-grade water from the city’s new wastewater treatment facility, and local labour.

“We’re very pleased CPS has selected Selkirk to build and operate its solar glass facility,” says Tim Feduniw, the Director of Sustainable Economic Development at the City of Selkirk. “This initiative aligns with our commitment to sustainable development and will create significant economic benefits for our community.”

The project wouldn’t be possible without the support of its Participation Agreement Partners, the Hollow Water First Nation and the incorporated community of Seymourville. These communities have a historic relationship with Selkirk and the supply of silica sand to industry from nearby Black Island dating back to the 1920s through to the 1980s.

When up and running, the sand quarry will employ approximately 30 people from Seymourville and Hollow Water First Nation, and the manufacturing plant in Selkirk would create up to 300 permanent, good-paying jobs.

“Selkirk is absolutely perfect,” says Leroux. “When I approached the city, they were very keen on this type of industry coming in because it meets their vision for sustainable development and long-term job creation. It really is an ideal fit that works for everybody.”

Canadian Premium Sand is currently setting the permitting process in motion for both the quarry and plant and expects that construction might start at the solar glass plant early in 2023. v