New energy plan in the works
City setting goals for a sustainable future, seeks public opinion
Elaine Anselmi
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, November 5, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Few things illustrate the importance of energy savings like generating your own - just ask homeowner Steve Robertson, whose house in the Con Camp Area is completely off the grid.
"There was power coming to the house, we've lived here for 25-plus years in the same location and we always had power, but then there was an upgrade to the line that didn't continue out to us," said Robertson.
"Our choice was very simple, that we needed to put in our own power system."
Six months of the year, from approximately March to August, Robertson's house is powered only by solar panels. The cost to put the system in place was more than $16,000, but Robertson received an Advanced Energy Technologies Program grant that covered just under $5,000 of that. During the overcast winter months, he uses a diesel generator and estimates the solar panels will pay for themselves within seven to 10 years, when compared to running on diesel all year.
"I would say we probably use somewhere between a quarter to a third of what an average household in Yellowknife uses," said Robertson, adding there are some households out there that are even more conservative.
"We live in a small house but we have a microwave, electric coffee maker, electric fridge, satellite TV and computers. Although we're very aware of it, it's not too rustic."
Although he appreciates the environmental benefit of using less energy, Robertson said cost is a major factor in his interest to conserve.
"I think people have different motivations, you can be doing it for the right reason, whatever you believe those to be, but I think for a lot of us there is also plain economics," said Robertson.
"When you have to provide your own power, you become acutely aware of your own energy consumption."
The City of Yellowknife is taking the whole energy picture into consideration to renew its Community Energy Plan, both for environmental and economic benefits. Through the changes proposed in the 2007 plan, Remi Gervais, City of Yellowknife energy co-ordinator, said the the city has saved approximately $650,000 per year.
The previous plan expires in 2014 but saw two significant goals met: reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent in city operations and six per cent in the community.
One project that Gervais said has seen significant savings was installing large biomass (wood pellet) burners.
"There is one currently at the pool, YK Arena and curling club - one pellet boiler for these three buildings," said Gervais. "That just saved, last year, its millionth litre of oil and it has been six years since we installed that one."
Gervais estimates the wood pellet boiler offered a net savings of nearly $150,000 per year, since its installation. A second boiler at the city's baling facility saved approximately $30,000.
"The other retrofit that we've really seen some results from is the LED (light-emitting diode) lighting, street lighting and facility lighting," said Gervais. "We still have room for additional implementation there."
Currently, he said the majority of community service buildings are using LED lights, for exterior lighting in particular. Street lights are gradually being replaced with LEDs. Gervais said approximately half have been switched out at this point but they hope to have all changed over in the next two years.
Within city-owned infrastructure, Gervais said the net savings for lighting has been approximately $30,000 per year, and $80,000 for streetlights.
An additional project with an estimated $100,000 net savings is a waste heat recovery system installed at the arena. The system takes heat produced by the ice plant and uses it to heat the building - some heat is also distributed to the nearby Fieldhouse.
The Arctic Energy Alliance is one of the consulting members to the city's Community Energy Planning Committee and Executive Director Louie Azzolini said the city is setting an example for its citizens and the country, garnering national awards for its sustainability efforts.
"The impact of the city's initiatives are far reaching both across Canada but also within Yellowknife because they're showing what is possible," said Azzolini. "It's easy to talk but they're doing it, and it's in the doing that peoples behaviours and attitudes are shaped."
Now that the city has worked through a plan once, Gervais said in moving forward, higher targets could be expected.
"Now that we know what to do, what works, then it would be pretty easy to achieve greater targets on the corporate side," said Gervais.
An increase in the percentage of renewable energy used in the city is something Gervais said was likely to be a part of the new plan, but would require public engagement before moving forward.
The city is asking residents to provide input toward developing the new plan through a survey, currently available on the city website. Over the next three months, Gervais said the city will be collecting responses, as well as putting together a study on energy usage, and presenting it at a public open house early in the new year.
After a draft plan is developed, a final plan that will target energy consumption from 2015 to 2025 will be presented toward the end of next year.
