More than $45 million in aid for a distillery in Salberry de Valleyfield

The governments of Quebec, Canada and Hydro-Quebec will pay more than $45 million to British spirits giant Diageo to enable it to convert its Salaberry-de-Valleyfield distillery into electricity.

With the money awarded, Diageo will go ahead with a $94 million project to replace oil and natural gas boilers, ultimately avoiding 40,000 tons of CO2 per year.

That equates to taking about 8,700 cars off the road, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s calculation machine.

“It is a good way to shine with our clean energy. It is also a way to ensure the long-term prosperity of the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield distillery. To justify this announcement, Prime Minister François Legault explained that it is a successful project for Quebec and for the planet.

“We are very grateful for this partnership with the Government of Quebec, which is in line with our goals of achieving 100% net carbon emissions and 100% renewable energy use in our direct operations by 2030,” said Director on his part and President of Sustainable Development for Diageo, Ioan Andrew.

Giant Diageo produces nearly 200 brands of spirits, ranging from Crown Royal whiskey to Captain Morgan rum, including Smirnoff vodka. It generates over $4 billion in sales in North America.

The Valleyfield Distillery provides about 290 jobs and sources grain from 1,500 Quebec farmers, according to the government.

The Legault government has increased its advertising of green investments since the start of COP26, which is being attended by the Prime Minister in Glasgow, UK.