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Spreading alternative energy message Community-minded Arctic Energy Alliance co-ordinator loves his job
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, August 22, 2013
INUVIK
Don Andre never runs out of energy when it comes to talking about his job.
Don Andre is the regional energy product co-ordinator for the Arctic Energy Alliance. He said he enjoys tackling the different challenges involved with a variety of unique projects. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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Andre is the regional energy product co-ordinator for the Arctic Energy Alliance. He's been in the position now for "three or four years, I can't remember," which likely indicates he's having too good a time to keep track.
"I was looking for something different when I took this job," the affable Andre said Aug. 14 in his office at the Aurora Research Institute.
He has a background in forestry and related sciences, but wanted a change of pace.
"I don't think I knew too much when I started," Andre acknowledged wryly of his knowledge of alternative energy sources.
He's learned a great deal since then, obviously, but his real passion is working with the residents in the eight communities around the Beaufort Delta.
"Every project is unique and a different challenge," he said with enthusiasm. "I like working with the communities. I get to meet a lot of new and good people."
His job is a mixture of liaison, resource person and informal engineer.
"The best part about this work is that the knowledge we gain is shared with everyone, and knowledge from around the NWT is shared too," he said.
Currently, communities around the region are showing a real interest and hunger for energy alternatives, Andre said.
Inuvik might lead the pack in the urgency of that interest, with the ongoing gas problems, but the outlying communities are keenly interested as well. They tend to be dependent on diesel as a heating fuel, Andre said.
The other Beaufort Delta communities also present a greater challenge, in some ways, than Inuvik, he added, because "you only have one attempt" a year at getting it right.
Right now, there's a considerable amount of interest in alternative energy sources in Inuvik, Andre said. That's being driven by the gas crisis here, where costs have nearly doubled this year.
More people are putting in wood stoves of various sorts, including pellet stoves, he said. There's also more interest in how to bring the soaring cost of electricity down.
The projects Andre works with are always based on a community's energy priorities. Determining those priorities is always the first facet of his job, followed by the practical considerations of whether a solution is viable and then how to implement it.
"There is some skepticism about alternative energies," Andre said. "But people are curious about it, and when they see the benefits, they're more interested.
"But the final decision always stays with the community."
Currently, there's a push on solar power, Andre said. Efficiencies have improved and costs have come down, so more people are considering it as a viable option.
It generally takes about seven years for a project to pay back its capital cost, Andre said.
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