Yellowknife (Jun 07/06) - There is a new heating system coming to town - one that makes both the pocketbook and the environment equally happy.

A new wood pellet heating system that is being shipped all the way from Austria is set to heat both Arctic Green Energy and the brand new North Slave Correctional Centre in Kam Lake.

"The two main advantages to wood pellet heating is that it is cheap - half the cost of oil heating," said Thomas Wunderlin, project manager of Arctic Energy.

"And they are very environmentally friendly... they have eight to 10 times less (carbon dioxide) emissions than oil."

The heating system requires a special type of boiler only manufactured in Europe, and the wood pellets are already created from excess wood chips at sawmills.

Wunderlin said they are very easy to hook up as they are packed in special shipping containers that also serve as the boiler shed once they arrive.

"The only thing that will need to be done is to hook up pipes from the boiler to the main building," Wunderlin said.

"These pipes are fitted right into the heating system that is already in place."

As it is connected to the same heating system, heat can be controlled with the same inside controls as for any other type of heating.

The only real difference that can seen is in the billing.

This is the very reason why Territorial Public Works and Services has signed on board with a deal to purchase heat from Arctic Green Energy.

"We needed more heat (in the correctional facility)," said Mike Aumond, deputy minister of Public Works and Services.

"Our original plan was to install a third boiler at the correctional centre, but Arctic Green Energy's proposal made sense and saved us a lot of money."

Arctic Green Energy is purchasing the boiler - which they will upkeep, maintain and purchase the wood pellets for - and then sell the heat produced to the correctional facility.

"It will save us $250,000 on the purchase and installation of a new boiler, $50,000 per year on heating costs, and $500 a year on boiler maintenance costs," said Aumond.

That is a total minimum savings of $300,500 dollars in the first year.

Each year there will be a savings of $50,500 in heating and maintenance costs.