With the help of town council, a group that wants to set up a canola crushing plant has doubled the amount of land it wants to use for that project from five to 10 acres.
Council did so by approving an amendment to the initial first reading of the bylaw.
There is an existing house on the property that the applicant is looking to repurpose as an office space as well as utilizing a well system and a holding tank. When the project is in full development, they will require hookup to town services.
Ryon Agro purchased the land, located in the Southeast Industrial Park at 6001- 49 Ave., in December 2016.
Last month, the applicant requested that five acres of their 94 acres of land be re-designated from urban reserve to light industrial.
The company intends to invest $50-$100 million into the pilot project that will process 200 tons of canola per day. The pilot project will be running 24 hours a day, five days a week, Monday through Friday.
As previously reported, when this facility is in full development, it could create up to 55 jobs.
Olds was chosen for Central Alberta’s canola supply. The region has over one million acres of canola.
There is still no specific timeline on when the project will move into full development. The applicant is taking their time to ensure that their technology works.
