Tours

2025 Value of Biogas West is offering two unique tour experiences. Attendees may choose to participate in either the GrowTEC Tour, hosted at the Perry Family farm near Lethbridge, or the Bonnybrook Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Tour in Calgary. Both tours take place on Monday, October 6, and run concurrently. Therefore, only one tour may be attended. Full tour details, including schedules and registration instructions, are provided below.

Registration is ONLY for a Tour (Conference registration is separate). Tour buses will leave and return to the Calgary Marriott Downtown at the allotted times. Spaces on the Tours are limited and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is $150 + GST.

Tour 1: GrowTEC (9:00am – 5:00pm)

Located on the Perry Family farm near Lethbridge, Alberta, GrowTEC is a multi-faceted bioenergy venture of sustainable agriculture, integrating responsible best practices and renewable energy. At GrowTEC’s core is a farm-scale biogas plant that has been converting manure and organic waste into renewable electricity (sold into the Alberta Electricity grid through AESO) and a nutrient-rich, pathogen free soil amendment since 2014. Recently, as a result of a 67% acquisition by EverGen Infrastructure Corp. in 2022, GrowTEC now upgrades the biogas into RNG, which is injected into the local pipeline network under an offtake agreement with FortisBC. GrowTEC is estimated to produce 80,000 gigajoules of RNG annually.

This tour will consist of a two-and-a-half hour coach ride to GrowTEC, lunch at the site, and a two hour tour of the potato farm and biogas plant. The tour will leave from the Calgary Marriott Downtown hotel at 9 am, returning to the same location at 5 pm. All attendees should dress appropriately for fall weather.

Tour 2: Bonnybrook WWTP (1:00 – 3:30PM)

Calgary recently invested over CD$1 billion for upgrades and expansion of Bonnybrook WWTP. This investment expanded the plant’s capacity to treat wastewater from 950,000 to 1.4 million people (with a peak flow capacity of 1,524 ML/d (18 m³/s)), and increased energy resiliency through addition of two new co-generation turbines. Biogas created from the sewage treatment process at the largest of Calgary’s three WWTPs is now captured and used to meet the plant’s needs for electric power and industrial steam for its advanced treatment process. This project not only reduces natural gas use, electricity use and biogas flaring, but it also makes the WWTP largely energy self-sufficient, and has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by about 17,500 tCO2e/year.

This tour will consist of a short coach ride to/from Bonnybrook WWTP, and a two-hour tour. The tour will leave from the Calgary Marriott Downtown hotel at 1 pm, returning to the same location at approximately 3:30 pm. All attendees must wear closed-toed shoes. PPE equipment will be provided on-site. No food or drink will be provided for this tour.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Prior to September 29, 2025, cancellations and refunds will be accepted with a $25 administration fee, which is non-refundable. After September 29, 2025, Tour registrants are welcome to name another attendee to attend in their place. No refunds will be processed after September 29, 2025.