Using Alternative and Renewable Energy

Innovative Sources of Energy

Alternative and renewable energy is used in place of fossil fuels in the manufacture of cement around the world as a safe and effective strategy to meet climate change and clean air objectives while simultaneously improving competitiveness.

Environmental and public health authorities, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.K. Health Protection Agency, have concluded that the use of alternative and renewable energy in properly managed and maintained cement kilns can contribute to improved environmental performance without increasing risks to human health or the environment. The European Court has recently ruled that the use of alternative and renewable energy in cement manufacturing is in fact considered as energy recovery within the European waste management framework, and not disposal, as in incineration.

While the cement industry in other jurisdictions has achieved high substitution rates, due to a variety of factors beyond the industry's control, high-emission intensity fossil fuels continue to be the primary source of energy for the Canadian cement industry, as shown below:

The Cement Association of Canada, along with our member companies, is working with provincial regulators, local stakeholders and environmental groups to address the barriers to increasing the use of alternative and renewable energy sources by the cement industry across Canada.