Yellowknife (Mar 21/03) - When it comes to energy efficiency, the City of Yellowknife has money in the bank -- now they just need to find the time to spend it.

An ambitious look at city-wide energy use should be underway this spring, say city officials.

The city has $50,000, set aside over the past two budgets to look at reducing emissions, auditing energy use, saving money on energy bills and finding alternative power sources.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said the study would build on successes in the past. He added that it's not just motivated by environmental concerns because it could save the city on energy costs and allow it to spend it on other programs.

The city saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs when it started paying closer attention -- and made a few simple changes -- to the way it heated raw water several years ago.

"There are other things we could do along those lines," he said.

Van Tighem said the city also hopes to use the study results as a tool to go after more grants that are available to municipalities from the federal government and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Study to be inclusive

Greg Kehoe, the city's director of public works, said the study will involve more than just city facilities and vehicles.

"We'll be looking at some of the larger users of energy, and residential users, and coming up with plans to assist them as well and have them support the project as well."

The study will be paid for with $20,000 the city set aside in its 2002 budget to look at reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2013, the target date of the Kyoto accord. That money was never spent and an additional $30,000 was added to the total to look at a wider range of energy issues in the 2003 budget. "The study will help us determine what's feasible and what's not," he said.

The city will also consult energy experts with the Arctic Energy Alliance to make sure the study is as effective as possible.

Energy expert to lend a hand

Alliance member Rob Marshall said the alliance would look at similar studies in other jurisdictions to draft a Yellowknife-specific study.

"This isn't a new concept," he said. "We'll look at what's worked and what hasn't in other cities."

He said it's not as simple as just buying a bunch of solar panels and refitting city buildings. "It's not always a question of what's technically possible, you also have to consider what's operationally possible."

Marshall said one thing that could be looked at is how to encourage more people to use public transit in Yellowknife. Another area the study could look at would be reducing the city's reliance on diesel power.

Mostly, Marshall said, the study would look at ways to reduce consumption of energy by offering incentives or imposing regulations.

"At the end of the day there are 15 or 20 different ways our energy footprint can be reduced," he said. "The study will look at what's the best for this city."