Yellowknife (July 28/06) - A Yellowknife environmental group is hoping to make the Mackenzie Valley pipeline "carbon neutral" by convincing regulators to mandate money for renovating homes, saving forests and building wind turbines in Alberta.

"As the project is currently structured it will only add to environmental problems," said Ecology North's Doug Ritchie this week.

According to research conducted by the Pembina Institute for the environmental group, gas extracted from the project will inject 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This number is based on 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day Imperial Oil - lead proponent of the $7.5 billion natural gas link to southern Canada - has indicated the pipeline can transport.

To offset expected greenhouse gas emissions, Ecology North is proposing one or a combination of the following measures:

• Preserving 21 million acres of forest;
• Renovating 6.4 million homes to make them more energy efficient;
• Building 7,700 one megawatt wind turbines in Alberta, and/or; buying carbon credits.

Ritchie hopes the Joint Review Panel - responsible for reviewing socio-economic and environmental impacts of the Mackenzie Gas Project - will adopt this position in its recommendation to the National Energy Board, the federal body charged with giving the thumbs up or down to the pipeline.

"It's clearly within the JRP's mandate to do this," he added.

While there are additional costs to achieving the "carbon neutral" goal, Ecology North estimates going this route would add 10 per cent to the price of the project. That would mean about $750 million according to the latest public estimates.

Imperial Oil spokesperson Pius Rolheiser declined to comment on Ecology North's proposal specifically, saying the Joint Review Panel was "the proper forum for this debate.

We have every confidence the panel will look at this along with other submissions, not only from intervenors but from project proponents," he said adding Imperial had, "every confidence in the environmental quality of the project."