Divestco Inc. and Bird River Resources Inc. announced a cogeneration joint venture (the 'Cogen') which will convert natural gas to electricity via a boiler-turbine at an industry low cost of 1.4 cents per kilowatt hour (based on current natural gas spot prices). Regulatory approvals are in place for the Cogen system to feed up to 3 megawatts of electricity into the power grid. The Cogen has secured a reliable, long-term gas supply through a privately owned natural gas producer.

Construction and implementation of the project is expected to take 4-5 months. As an initial end user, Divestco expects to enter into a long-term agreement to purchase electricity from the Cogen to power its computing center. With the move to more renewable energy sources and the transition away from coal fired generation in Alberta, electricity costs in the province are expected to trend up resulting in heavy electrical users potentially looking for more cost-efficient options.

In addition to Divestco's intense computing operations, the Cogen has identified and is pursuing numerous other opportunities for the excess power generated. Under the proposed arrangement, Divestco will pay for one third and Bird River will pay for two thirds of the Cogen project costs with both parties having a 50% ownership in the completed project.