Lafarge Canada bets on ITCs to boost clean energy investments

Lafarge Canada (Holcim Group) is among the companies counting on investment tax credits (ITCs) for its plant in Exshaw, Alberta, Canada, where it has a plan to capture 1Mta of carbon emissions.

"Having ITCs in place in Canada... will certainly help the project's business case and in ensuring investment in decarbonisation occurs in Canada," the company's two heads of sustainability said in a joint statement to Reuters.

The government first announced some CAD10bn (US$7.4bn) in ITCs for investments in net-zero technologies, including wind or solar power, and for carbon capture and storage (CCS) 17 months ago, and this month concluded consultations on that legislation with industry.

An additional CAD17bn in ITCs for clean hydrogen, electricity and manufacturing were announced six months ago and those are at an earlier stage. Both sets of ITCs, once fully legislated, will be applied retroactively to the dates outlined previously, said a finance ministry official, and some companies are already investing because they have enough certainty that the money will flow.

The official, who spoke on background due to the sensitivity of the information, said the consultation process took time because the government wanted to get the legislation right. Without saying when the first set of ITCs will be passed, the official said it was a top priority to get them done.