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DEH CHO - When Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger unveiled the 2009-2010 territorial budget on Feb. 5, the Deh Cho wasn't forgotten.

The region and many of its communities are specifically named in eight different initiatives listed in the proposed budget, primarily related to energy.

If the 2009-10 budget is approved a hydrokinetic power generator, like this one at the Manitoba Hydro Pointe du Bois generating station north of Winnipeg, could be tested in the Mackenzie River at Fort Simpson this summer. - photo courtesy of the Department of Industry Tourism and Investment

The projects are part of the government's energy priorities framework that calls for the exploration of renewable and alternative energy sources and the reduction of imported diesel fuel, said Dave Nightingale, director of energy planning for the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

One initiative is testing an in-stream hydrokinetic generator in Fort Simpson. Another is developing or expanding a system that collects wasted heat from fossil fuel generators and then distribute it to community customers in Fort Liard and Fort Simpson.

Funding has also been requested for three studies: running transmission lines from the Taltson River power source to Fort Providence and Kakisa; the feasibility of converting four communities, including Fort Simpson, to natural gas in connection with the Mackenzie Gas Project; and the geothermal potential in the Deh Cho region.

"Essentially it's looking in the long term at fundamentally changing our energy supply," Nightingale said of the five projects.

Each of the projects, if approved, hold different benefits, he said.

The hydrokinetic generator, for example, is an emerging technology that's relatively inexpensive, said Nightingale.

The pilot project would involve putting a seasonal hydrokinetic turbine in the Mackenzie River at Fort Simpson. The turbine sits the water below a pontoon boat and is turned by the river's current. The turbine only runs when the river is ice free.

"For five or six months you can displace a fair amount of diesel," said Nightingale.

If it proved successful, there are a number of communities, including Wrigley and Jean Marie River, that could be suitable for this kind of technology, he said.

If approved, the generator and the development of waste heat distribution system would be the two projects Deh Cho residents will see progress on first, said Nightingale. The generator could be in the river by this summer.

Both studies will test which technologies are best suited to different communities.

Each of the projects would last for more than one year. The monetary amounts outlined in the proposed budget are for the first year of the projects. The investments for subsequent years will be based in part on the results from year one and will be finalized through the business planning process, said Nightingale.

Only one of the projects piques the interest of Duncan Canvin, the mayor of Fort Simpson.

"The concept of geothermal holds the biggest promise," said Canvin.

"It's the biggest idea to hit the pavement since Alexander (Graham Bell) invented the telephone."

The Village of Fort Simpson is interested in reducing its dependency on fossil fuels by harvesting another source of energy like geothermal, he said.

Canvin isn't as optimistic about the other proposed projects in the budget. The government has talked about some of them, such as the run of the river turbines before, but has never moved forward on them, he said.

Also in the proposed budget is funding for more RCMP officers in Fort Liard, Fort McPherson and Fort Good Hope to allow for increased patrols and stays in smaller communities that don't have permanent RCMP officers.

"There's been an outcry that we need more presence at the community level," said Jackson Lafferty, the minister of justice.

There are 10 communities in the territory that don't have RCMP detachments, including Trout Lake and Nahanni Butte. Both are policed from Fort Liard. Part of the requested $475,000 would be used to add one new officer to the Fort Liard detachment who would focus on the two outlying communities, Lafferty said.

"I think this is a huge, positive step," he said.

Getting detachments in communities like Trout Lake or Nahanni Butte could take several years of work with the federal government. Adding officers to existing detachments provides an immediate increase in service, said Lafferty.