Merit Based Assessment Criteria

The deadline to apply to the ecoENERGY for Biofuels program was March 31, 2010. The program is no longer accepting applications.

New producers, who are successful in demonstrating the minimum threshold of an “advanced state of readiness”, will undergo a full merit-based assessment against all Program criteria.

This full assessment will be conducted after the application deadline of March 31, 2010, and the respective applications will be rated and ranked.

The assessment criteria are as follows:

Financial (35%)

Proponent’s general financial position:

• Percentage of total required funding provided by the applicant; total amount of working capital; the estimated cost of existing judgments or ongoing lawsuits

Debt to Equity Ratio:

• Percentage of total project funding composed of debt financing

Source of Financing:

• Percentage of financing that is deemed to be firm (based only on conditions which exist for the duration of the financing agreement)

Quality of Financing:

• Evaluation based on the source of funding. This will be ranked by:
  • Schedule I or II banking institutions or another Government Program
  • Private or public company with audited financials
  • Private Investor with supporting letter from a professional accountant or their banker
  • Any other organization as rated by Dunn & Bradstreet

Three year viability of proponent based on audited financials:

• Rated on consecutive years of profitability for the proponent

Three year viability of parent company based on audited financials:

• Rated on consecutive years of profitability for the parent company

Project Details (20%)

End to End Process Flow:

• Number of elements of the plant design/process that may represent potential bottlenecks in the process flow for producing at nameplate capacity

Off the shelf Technology:

• Is the technology employed a turnkey solution, an in-house design tested at multiple sites or a first generation technology solution?

Construction Activities:

• Current construction status. Applicants must outline their progress in each of the following areas:
  • site preparation
  • excavation and footing installation
  • foundation work
  • framing of building
  • enclosing of building
  • equipment installation
  • equipment testing
  • installation of HVAC
  • installation of  feedstock and production (biofuel) storage
  • utilities hook-up

Type of feedstock:

• Is the facility using a conventional or non conventional based feedstock?

Environmental (15%)

GHG Emissions Intensity:

• gCO₂ eq./L based on production

Energy Efficiency:

• Joules/L based on production

Water Usage:

• Volume/L based on production

Environmental Permits, Licenses and Authorizations:

• Percentage of total permits, licenses or authorizations secured at federal, provincial and municipal levels based on the expected total permitting timeline

Environmental Assessment Stage:

• Environmental Documentation

Management (10%)

CEO experience:

• Does the CEO or person in a position of comparable decision making authority have experience in the biofuels sector or alternatively, in an industrial production environment?

Plant Manager experience:

• Does the Plant Manager have experience in the biofuels sector or alternatively, in an industrial production environment?

CFO experience:

• Does the CFO, or person in a comparable senior financial role, have experience in the biofuels sector or alternatively, in an industrial production environment?

Senior Engineer experience:

• Does the Senior Engineer have experience in the biofuels sector or alternatively, in the fuels sector?

Biofuel technology installation consultant, or alternatively, the internal technology expert:

• Does the technology installation consultant or internal technology expert have experience in the biofuels sector?

Contractual Arrangements (10%)

Fuel Purchase Arrangements:

• Percentage of production committed to sale via a firm fuel purchase arrangement

Co-product Purchase Arrangements:

• Percentage of co-product production committed to sale via a firm co-product purchase arrangement

Equipment Purchase Arrangements:

• Confirmation that firm contract(s) are in place for the major equipment and the expected equipment delivery schedule

Feedstock Procurement Arrangements:

• Percentage of feedstock requirement covered by firm contract

Locally Sourced Feedstock Procurement:

• Percentage of feedstock produced within 300 km of the facility and purchased via a firm supply contract

Economic Impact (5%)

Job Creation:

• Number of new full time jobs created at the facility

Economic Development:

• Quantify the Economic benefit that the facility will bring to the community over the duration of the Contribution Agreement. Outline the value of all contracts for construction or and construction costs and divide by maximum value of the Contribution Agreement

Support for Atlantic Canada:

• Is the facility located in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland?

Community Support:

• Can the facility demonstrate support from the following people/organizations in the region in which the facility resides:
  • local First Nations
  • MP
  • MPP
  • Mayor
  • City Council
  • Chamber of Commerce or local Business Development organization
  • Any other Local Community Group with relevant interest to the Project
  • Support from other related private sector entities as deemed acceptable by the program

Long Term Viability (5%)

Tax Incentives or Exemptions:

• List all Tax Incentives or Tax Exemptions specific to the biofuel industry for which the applicant will receive a minimum of three years of benefits

Production/Blenders Incentives:

• A list of the Production Incentives confirmed for the producer for a minimum of three years, (if any) and whether this is a fixed or variable incentive

Diversified Proponent:

• Is the facility an integrated biodiesel/crushing operation or alternatively, an integrated ethanol/feedlot or a Biorefinery?