Boost in funding to support 20 projects, create 750 jobs
Alberta is investing $58 million through the Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) to create jobs in the natural gas sector. This has been more than doubled by private and public investment, leading to a total of $155 million in funding, says the government.
The funding will support ERA’s Natural Gas Challenge, launched in October 2019, which invites technology developers to share project concepts for innovation opportunities in the province’s natural gas industry.
“Investing in innovation and technology gets Albertans back to work, while ensuring the resilience of our responsible natural resource sector,” says Jason Nixon, minister of environment and parks.
The funding will support 20 new projects – and create 750 new jobs – including one that uses artificial intelligence to locate and measure methane emissions, and a project to produce renewable natural gas from biogas at an agricultural facility that will be the first of its kind in Alberta.
Employment rose by nearly one million (953,000) in June following a 290,000 gain in May as economies continue to re-open amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Statistics Canada (StatCan).
Employers’ net employment outlook for the third quarter stands at -10 per cent, a drop of 19 percentage points from the previous quarter and 21 percentage points from the third quarter of 2019, according to a survey by ManpowerGroup.
