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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
More than 100 people interested in NWT energy gathered in Yellowknife last week for a series of meetings that represent a new approach to energy planning in the territory.

The conference, titled the NWT Energy Charrette, took place at the Explorer Hotel from last Wednesday to Friday and brought together government officials, energy experts and representatives from NWT communities and aboriginal groups to discuss what the priorities should be for future energy planning in the NWT.

The aim of the conference was to bring together a wide range of viewpoints to set goals before developing the 2013 NWT Energy Strategy, an approach that avoids problems that crop up when public consultations are held after plans are developed, said Dave Nightingale, director of energy planning with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

"It was good to have that context upfront," he said. "It was about what our priorities should be and how are we going to move toward where we want to go."

Key objectives that came out of the conference included increasing the reliability of power around the territory, reducing the impact on the environment and making energy more affordable. These issues are not new, in fact they are very similar to objectives laid out in the 1980 NWT Energy Strategy, said Nightingale. However, what is new this time around is the technology that is available to address these needs.

Alternative energy technologies including wind and solar continue to come down in price, making them more competitive with traditional fossil fuel use. Minister Michael Miltenberger told Yellowknifer the GNWT is ready to take an aggressive approach to introducing these technologies to more communities in the NWT.

"We're deadly serious on moving forward on these key areas of biomass, solar, hydro and geothermal if we can make it work," he said.

The number one challenge in providing affordable, reliable energy in the territory is the vastness of the territory compared to the sparse population, said Nightingale.

For these and a host of other reasons, the future of energy in the territory lies in diversification and tying together more of the smaller, isolated grids into a larger network.

"When you get into the fundamental challenges of getting off of imported diesel - which everybody agrees on wanting to do that - reducing and stabilizing your energy costs, those things are going to be achieved over time. There is no magic bullet," said Nightingale.

Information amassed during the energy conference will be released in early January in the form of a Charrette Report which will be published on the website nwtenergy.ca. This information will then be used to inform the 2013 NWT Energy Strategy, to be released in March.

The GNWT is also looking for public feedback on what priorities should be included in the territory's new energy strategy. A discussion paper has been posted to the department's website, which includes five feedback questions due by Dec. 15.

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