• Funding is in the form of a one-time repayable capital contribution to new and expanding eligible biofuel facilities.
• For program purposes, the scale of eligible Saskatchewan investment is set at a minimum of five per cent to a maximum of 20 per cent of the organization's share holdings.
• The range of eligible equity investment from each Saskatchewan investor will be set from $1,000 to $1,000,000.
• The incentive rate is set at a minimum of five cents per litre.
• Funding of up to 10 cents per litre or $10,000,000 per eligible project, whichever is less, is provided to the applicant.
• The contribution payment is contingent on an eligible project commencing production of biofuels and verification of its certified nameplate capacity.
• The funding contribution from SaskBIO is repayable by the applicant under conditions of profit.
• $80,000,000 is available for the program over a four-year period, beginning on April 1, 2008.

• Corporations (including co-operatives), individuals or partnerships are eligible to apply for funding.
• To be eligible for funding, the minimum annual production of the new facility or increased capacity of an existing facility must be two million litres per year for biodiesel and ethanol.
• Projects to construct new or expand existing renewable transportation biofuels production facilities are eligible for funding.
• Saskatchewan investment must be maintained for at least two years after the construction is completed and the facility commences producing biofuels.
• Renewable agricultural feedstock, forestry feedstock or other Saskatchewan produced renewable feedstock that is acceptable to EI must be used to produce transportation biofuels.
• Applicants who have received funding under SaskBIO will be eligible to apply again for funding for an expansion of an existing facility or for funding of a new facility, as long as the program requirements are met.

Individuals:

• who file their Canadian income tax as a Saskatchewan resident in at least one of the five years previous to the signing of the contribution agreement between the applicant and EI; and
• whose contributions remain invested with the applicant for two years following commencement of operations.

Businesses:

• that file their Canadian Income Tax as a Saskatchewan business; and
• where their contributions remain invested with the applicant for two years following commencement of operations.

NOTE:  If an investor is located outside of Saskatchewan, their contribution will not be counted towards the eligible investor ownership of a facility; however, they are still able to invest in the facility.

Where an investment is made by a corporation (including a co-operative), all or a majority of the shareholders of which are eligible investors:

• the investment will be counted as individual investments by those eligible shareholders to a maximum of $1,000,000 per eligible shareholder minus the amount, if any, that the eligible investor has invested directly in the applicant or in any other corporation that has invested in the applicant;
• the maximum investment limit of $1,000,000 for the corporation will be increased by the amount of the investment in the corporation that is counted as individual investments by eligible investors; and
• the applicant is responsible for obtaining and providing evidence of the eligibility of individual investors in the corporation.

NOTE:  Making an investment through a body corporate, whether a business corporation or a co-operative, involves complex issues regarding taxation, accounting, legal and other matters relating to the investment.  Potential investors are strongly encouraged to obtain professional advice prior to making their investment.

NOTE:  Applicants are required to obtain and submit the appropriate information from the investors to validate their qualification as eligible Saskatchewan investors for the purposes of this program and to demonstrate their investment in the project.

1.   Calculate the incentive rate:  The program contribution rate (y) of the nameplate capacity is calculated on a sliding scale ranging from five cents per litre to 10 cents per litre according to eligible Saskatchewan equity investment rates from five to 20 per cent.

Formula:

For example, if the eligible equity investment of Saskatchewan investors was 15 per cent, the incentive rate would be:

2.   Calculate the SaskBIO contribution:  The total program contribution (loan amount) is calculated by multiplying the incentive rate by the nameplate capacity (annual biofuel production) of the facility to a maximum of $10 million per facility.

Formula:

Using the above example, if the nameplate capacity was 100 million litres per year, the total program contribution would be:

Sample program funding contributions with varying plant capacity, and levels of Saskatchewan investment:

SaskBIO Program
Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation
200, 3085 Albert Street
Regina, SK S4S 0B1
E-mail: SaskBIO@gov.sk.ca  
Telephone: 306-787-4484