Cancarb adding solar power facility at carbon black plant

Medicine Hat, Alberta – Cancarb Ltd, a subsidiary of Tokai Carbon, is investing in a solar power project that will provide around 3.5 megawatts (MW) of renewable electricity to its thermal carbon black plant in Medicine Hat.

Around 7000 solar panels will be installed on land directly adjacent to the carbon black plant, with power generated being fed directly into the carbon black plant utility load, the Canadian company said.

The project “complies with both municipal and provincial requirements of being a microgeneration project under 5MW, and strictly for self-supply,” according to the  28 July announcement.

We are "committed to achieving the sustainability goals that have been set out by our parent company, Tokai Carbon Co. Ltd, which are to be carbon neutral by 2050,” said Peter Donnelly, president of Cancarb Ltd.

Customers, added Donnelly, “want to buy carbon black from companies that are committed to sustainable operations and are willing to take real action to reduce emissions.”

The construction contract has been awarded to a local solar development company Terralta Inc., noted Cancarb, adding that the plant is expected to be commissioned in mid-2026.