VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Village Farms
International, Inc. ("Village Farms" or the "Company") (TSX: VFF)
(NASDAQ: VFF) today announced Village Farms' wholly owned
subsidiary, Village Farms Clean Energy, Inc. ("VFCE"), has renewed
and extended its existing contract with the City of Vancouver under which VFCE receives
landfill gas captured by the City of
Vancouver at the City's landfill site in Delta, BC (the "COV LFG Contract"). The
20-year extension period, with an option for an additional
five-year extension period, commences upon start-up of the Delta
RNG Project commercial operations.
The renewed and extended COV LFG Contract enables Village Farms
to transition VFCE to a more attractive long-term business model
based on the conversion of landfill gas to high-demand Renewable
Natural Gas (RNG) (the "Delta RNG Project"), which will also
generate food-grade liquid CO2, significantly reducing
Village Farms' and Pure Sunfarms' reliance on natural gas to
produce CO2 in their operations. The reduction in
natural gas requirements is expected to eliminate 28,000 tonnes of
CO2 emitted through natural gas production, or the
equivalent of taking more than 6,000 automobiles off the road,
annually.
VFCE has entered into a partnership with Mas Energy, LLC ("Mas
Energy") for the Delta RNG Project, under which Mas Energy will
design, build, finance (including all capital expenditure for
construction), own and operate the Delta RNG facility.
"Throughout our history, Village Farms has been committed to
environmental sustainability and clean agricultural technologies,"
said Michael DeGiglio, CEO, Village
Farms. "The Delta RNG Project will allow Village Farms to take this
commitment to the next level to meet the evolving energy needs of
the region and further contribute to the reduction of greenhouse
gases in the Fraser Valley, while the City of Vancouver will benefit from
higher beneficial landfill gas utilization. Village Farms' and
especially Pure Sunfarms' Delta
greenhouses, will benefit from a reduced reliance on fossil
fuel-sourced natural gas, as well as an improved earnings profile,
with lower ongoing capital expenditure requirements. It's a
win-win-win for the region, our Company and our shareholders."
"The City of Vancouver is
pleased to continue our longstanding partnership with Village Farms
for beneficial use of landfill gas from the Vancouver Landfill.
Their new venture to convert the landfill gas into Renewable
Natural Gas supports our on-going efforts to address the climate
emergency and cut carbon pollution in Vancouver by 50% by 2030," said Albert Shamess, Director of Zero Waste and
Resource Recovery, City of
Vancouver.
"Mas Energy is proud to partner with Village Farms and the
City of Vancouver on this exciting
project," said Michael Hall,
Principal at Mas Energy. "We look forward to starting site
activities very soon and delivering the benefits of cleaner energy
and air to the citizens of the Vancouver region for a long time to come."
The Delta RNG Project is subject to additional regulatory
approvals, which the Company expects to be received in the first
half of 2021, potentially leading to operational start up as early
as the first half of 2022.
About VFCE and its Current Co-Generation Facility
VFCE currently owns and operates a co-generation facility
adjacent to both Village Farms' produce greenhouse and Pure
Sunfarms' (Village Farms' wholly owned subsidiary for cannabis
production) greenhouses located in Delta, B.C. The co-generation facility sources
landfill gas (a greenhouse gas produced naturally in landfills that
is 20 times more potent in warming capabilities than carbon
dioxide) from the City of Vancouver's landfill under its COV LFG
Contract to generate electricity, all of which is sold to B.C.
Hydro under a power purchasing agreement (which expires in 2023)
with a royalty on those sales paid to the City of Vancouver. The VFCE co-generation
facility also provides thermal heat, which is used by the Village
Farms produce greenhouse in Delta,
BC. The co-generation facility would be decommissioned upon
construction of the Delta RNG Project.
About Mas Energy LLC
Mas Energy is a fully integrated investment, development and
asset management firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia that delivers creative and
value-added resource solutions to utilities, private companies,
cooperatives and municipalities, with a primary focus on renewable
natural gas and efficient distributed generation. Established in
2008 to leverage the development background of its principals, Mas
Energy has acquired, developed, constructed, and/or operated nearly
20 biogas-to-energy projects over the past twelve years. Its
combined experience of more than 175 years in the structuring,
development, engineering, production, and distribution of energy
enables it to evaluate projects from different perspectives to
minimize risk and maximize value.
About Village Farms International, Inc.
Village Farms is one of the largest and longest-operating
greenhouse growers in North
America, and is leveraging its decades of experience as a
large-scale, low-cost intensive agriculture and vertically
integrated produce supplier to pursue high-value, high-growth
plant-based Consumer Packaged Goods opportunities in cannabis and
CBD in North America and selected
markets internationally.
In Canada, British-Columbia-based Pure Sunfarms is one of
the single largest cannabis operations in the world, the
lowest-cost greenhouse producer, one of the best-selling brands,
and has generated profitability for six consecutive quarters.
In the U.S., subject to compliance with all applicable U.S.
federal and state laws, Village Farms is pursuing a strategy to
become a leading developer and supplier of branded and
white-labeled CBD products targeting "big box" and other major
retailers and consumer packaged goods companies, and with one the
largest greenhouse operations in country, is well positioned for
the potential federal legalization of high-THC cannabis.
Internationally, Village Farms is strategically targeting
selected, nascent, legal cannabis and CBD opportunities with
significant long-term potential, with an initial focus on the
Asia-Pacific region through its
investment in Australia-based
Altum International.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and is subject to the safe harbor created by those
sections. This press release also contains "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
law. We refer to such forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information collectively as "forward-looking
statements". Particularly, statements regarding the intended use of
proceeds, the acquisition of the remaining interest in Pure
Sunfarms, and the future results, performance, achievements,
prospects or opportunities for the Company, the greenhouse
vegetable industry, the cannabis industry or other risks discussed
in the Company's Form 10-K filed on April 1,
2020 and its other filings with the SEC are forward-looking
statements. In some cases, forward-looking information can be
identified by such terms as "outlook", "may", "might", "will",
"could", "should", "would", "occur", "expect", "plan",
"anticipate", "believe", "intend", "try", "estimate", "predict",
"potential", "continue", "likely", "schedule", "objectives", or the
negative or grammatical variation thereof or other similar
expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. When
relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, the
Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these
statements, as forward-looking statements involve significant risks
and uncertainties and should not be read as guarantees of future
results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities.
The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate
only to events or information as of the date on which the
statements are made in this press release. Except as required by
law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise
publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which
the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
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SOURCE Village Farms International, Inc.