Ginn, Anderson detail Denmark trip to see projects for Central Huron Council

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

At their last meeting of July, Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn and Deputy-Mayor Marg Anderson reported to council about a recent trip they’d taken to Denmark to learn more about the sustainability hub being proposed for the former Bluewater Youth Centre property.

 

The pair were able to take advantage of a trip to the home of Hamlet when two of the scheduled attendees had to drop out. The trip was designed for potential American investors, so it wasn’t exactly tailored to what is being proposed in Central Huron, Ginn said, but they found it to be informative nonetheless.

 

A spot first opened up that was offered to Ginn and, once a second spot opened up, Anderson was asked to join. They presented council with a number of reports related to the trip, including a trip to Renew Energy on June 17 and trips to BioCirc and Nature Energy on June 18, as well as pictures from the visit.

 

“On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark’s Biogas and Food and Agricultural Advisories, we’re proud to officially welcome you to the public delegation on the topic of leveraging sustainability as a rural economic strategy,” reads the welcome message in the package from Jens Lehman Christensen and Frederik Hyldgaard Thomsen.

 

“Denmark is one of the world’s leading nations when it comes to innovative agricultural practices, waste management and biogas value chain solutions, best illustrated by the fact that biogas makes up nearly 40 per cent of Denmark’s natural gas consumption,” the statement continues. “The value chain is set to strengthen further in the coming years, as the Danish government has committed to a 100 per cent biomethane gas grid by 2030. Combined with an innovative food and agricultural sector, this makes the Danish food cluster among the most energy efficient and sustainable in the world.”

 

The theme of the first day, June 17, was “Sustainability as a Rural Economic Strategy” and it included meetings with the Danish Agricultural and Energy Agencies and an afternoon reception with the Ambassador of the United States to Denmark,
The second day focused on “The Danish Biogas Model” and included a visit to Nature Energy HQ and Laboratory in Odense, a tour of the Gemidan Ecogi Waste Handling Facility, a visit to BioCirc HQ and tours of Naturbiogas Sode with CioCirc and GrainIT and Nature Energy Glansager with Nature Energy, Ammongas and Biogasclean.

 

The third day, “Danish Innovation in the Dairy Sector”, included a visit to the Agro Food Park in Aarhus and the Arla Innovation Center and a tour of the Arla Farm.

 

The final day focused on public-private partnerships as sustainability levers and consisted of meetings, roundtables and a debrief of the trip.

 

In speaking with council, Ginn said he was fortunate to get talking to one of the group’s bus drivers at one point. His son lives very close to a GreenLab project similar to the one being proposed for Central Huron. He asked him about odour and other concerns and was told that the aforementioned bus driver’s son didn’t have any complaints.

 

Anderson also said the trip was very informative, though she too was disappointed to have not seen GreenLab while there.
Ginn said another meeting was scheduled with those from the Danish Consulate the following Friday. Council does not meet again until Monday, Aug. 12.