GreenField Ethanol Plant officially opens

September 08, 2009

Ken Field, Chairman and Founder of GreenField Ethanol, Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources and Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville, officially opened the Johnstown ethanol plant on Sept. 9, 2009.


GreenField Ethanol plant officially opens

Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville, recently joined  Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt and GreenField Ethanol Chairman and Founder Ken Field to officially open the Johnstown plant.

Following an address by Mr. Field and Minister Raitt, Mr. Brown made the following comments.

Thank you Minister. I am pleased to be here today to mark the opening of this great GreenField facility. 

Our region will benefit greatly from GreenField Ethanol’s permanent presence here in Johnstown. 

I’d like to thank Ken and Minister Raitt for taking the time to come here and speak this morning about how ethanol affects our lives. 

Ethanol is an important and essential part of our future.  It has great benefits for our economy and the environment. 

The use of ethanol cuts air pollution and GHG emissions, fuels our cars more efficiently with a home-grown product, and stimulates growth in our rural economy. 

Ethanol is important because it increases Canada’s energy security. 

When I was in the Middle East, I learned first-hand that we as a country are vulnerable because we depend too heavily on crude oil from unstable regions of the world.  The U.S. is in the same position. 

The world will run out of oil.  Securing Canada and North America’s energy supply protects us.  A more secure Canada means a more stable Canadian economy.  And, in our increasingly globalized world, a more stable Canadian economy is good for all Canadians. 

Ethanol, in particular, is essential to our energy security because it can be consumed by Canadians.  The Albertan oil sands are also an integral part of our energy security strategy, but Canada does not yet have the appropriate refineries to take Alberta’s oil, and so all Albertan oil is shipped south into the U.S. 

Ethanol is produced in Canada and consumed by Canadians; it is the source of Canada and North America’s future energy security. 

If we are to remain the true north strong and free, this new facility reflects a step in the right direction for all Canadians. 

I would like to thank Ken, GeenField, the government of Canada, the farmers, and the many investors who made this possible. 

Today marks the beginning of a new era of clean, sustainable economic growth for this region. 

Thank you.