Suncor Energy's St. Clair ethanol plant safely achieves one billion-litre production milestone

MOORETOWN, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 7, 2011) - Suncor Energy Inc. reported today that its St. Clair ethanol plant achieved a production milestone of one billion litres of ethanol in May 2011, just short of its fifth anniversary.

"We're very proud of this achievement," reflects Jim Provias, vice-president, Renewable Energy. "Reaching this milestone in just five years of operation is due to the efforts of our employees, who have operated the facility consistently, reliably, and most importantly, safely. In fact, since April of 2008 workers have put in over 350,000 hours at the plant without a recordable safety infraction."

The St. Clair plant began operation in June 2006 with a yearly production capacity of 200 million litres. In February 2011, an expansion was completed which doubled production capacity to 400 million litres a year, making the facility the largest biofuel plant by volume in Canada.

According to a Life Cycle Value Assessment of the St. Clair ethanol plant conducted by the Pembina Institute, pure ethanol produces over 60 per cent less carbon dioxide (CO₂) than gasoline. By blending up to 10 per cent ethanol from the St. Clair plant, the study estimated that overall CO₂ emissions in gasoline could be reduced by 4.6 per cent. Given the one billion litres produced at the plant to date, this equates to a CO₂ emission reduction of nearly 1.5 million tonnes – the equivalent of the annual tailpipe emissions of approximately 300,000 cars.

The ethanol produced at the St. Clair plant is blended into Suncor's Petro-Canada branded gasoline, providing a lower environmental impact than regular, non-ethanolized gasoline and ensuring Suncor meets government mandated blending standards.

Suncor is one of the largest players in renewable energy in Canada. Its St. Clair ethanol plant and five operating wind power projects across Canada – and a sixth to be operational by the end of the year – are expected to displace the equivalent of nearly one million tonnes of CO₂ per year.

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All forward-looking statements are based on Suncor's current expectations, estimates, projections, beliefs and assumptions based on information available at the time the statement was made and in light of Suncor's experience and its perception of historical trends.

Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "expected," "anticipates," "approximately," "estimates," "plans," "scheduled," "intends," "may," "believes," "projects," "indicates," "could," "focus," "vision," "goal," "proposed," "target," "objective," "continue" and similar expressions. In addition, all other statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about our strategy for growth, costs, schedules, production volumes, operating and financial results and expected impact of future commitments, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include references to the expectation that our St. Clair ethanol plant and five operating wind power projects across Canada – and a sixth to be operational by the end of the year – are expected to displace the equivalent of nearly one million tonnes of CO₂per year. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some that are similar to other oil and gas companies and some that are unique to our company. Suncor's actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on them.

Suncor's Earnings Release, Quarterly Report and Management's Discussion & Analysis for the second quarter of 2010 and its most recently filed Annual Information Form/Form 40-F, Annual Report to Shareholders and other documents it files from time to time with securities regulatory authorities describe the risks, uncertainties, material assumptions and other factors that could influence actual results and such factors are incorporated herein by reference. Copies of these documents are available without charge from Suncor at 150 6th Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta T2P 3Y7, by calling 1-800-558-9071, or by email request to info@suncor.com or by referring to the company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or EDGAR at www.sec.gov . Except as required by applicable securities laws, Suncor disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Suncor Energy Inc. is Canada's premier integrated energy company. Suncor's operations include oil sands development and upgrading, conventional and offshore oil and gas production, petroleum refining, and product marketing under the Petro-Canada brand. While working to responsibly develop petroleum resources, Suncor is also developing a growing renewable energy portfolio. Suncor's common shares (symbol: SU) are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.

For more information about Suncor Energy Inc. please visit our web site at www.suncor.com