Surrounded by gas, reliant on the south
GNWT meetings focus on strategy, reducing emissions
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Thursday, November 17, 2016
INUVIK
Inuvik is surrounded by gas but imports almost all of its energy.
Rob Marshall, acting manager of the climate change unit in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, helped lead a two-day climate and energy workshop in Inuvik earlier this month. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo
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"Until we can develop a well or access the gas that's in the ground in this region, and we're importing propane or diesel or whatever type of fuel from the south, we're never going to see any real decrease in costs," said Mayor Jim McDonald.
He was talking about what the town's energy priorities should be going forward, in light of a two-day meeting the GNWT held in the community earlier this month on energy strategy and climate change.
With the Ikhil gas well running low and having been moved to emergency backup use only, heating costs have increased in the town as it is forced to ship in propane from the south.
"I don't know that we'll ever see a decrease in the cost, but at least if we can produce it in the region, we should have a better control of the cost and a more stable, less volatile cost," said McDonald.
"That's the long-term goal: to try and find a reliable source within the region rather than having to important everything. It doesn't matter what type of fuel we're using right now - it all has to come from the south, whether that be diesel, natural gas, propane or pellets. It's just not a solution."
But that's easier said than done. The Mackenzie pipeline looks a long ways off, McDonald said, and Ikhil was built when there was a bigger energy industry operating in the area already, reducing the costs through efficiencies of scale.
The best bet, McDonald thinks, is developing a small-scale gas-to-liquids operation in the region that would supply natural gas and diesel to the area, including the coast and other communities in the Beaufort Delta.
At a public information session earlier this month, the GNWT took comments from the community about what the territory's energy and climate change strategies should be.
Participants wrote their ideas on a suggestion board. Among the final participant observations were the ideas that communities need their own energy plans, that different communities have different energy needs, that the public needs to be engaged in any decisions and that long-term capacity is a must.
Rob Marshall, acting manager of the climate change unit in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said the need for a partnership between different levels of government and community organizations was a clear message he received.
"Better communication was a theme, and a discussion about the size of projects that the GNWT might pursue in the future, (and) whether it should focus on large transformational projects like big hydro or is it better to do smaller-scale, community-size projects," said Marshall.
"Both of them have pros and cons".
The GNWT was visiting five communities in the territory to gather input to go into its energy strategy and climate change strategic framework, two separate but related documents.
In 2017, the GNWT is due to release a new energy strategy to establish the principles that will guide its approach to energy in the territory.
The strategy is to focus on the affordability, reliability and environmental impact of energy.
Issues related to the NWT's oil and natural gas resources will be addressed through a separate NWT oil and gas strategy, led by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
In terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the GNWT listed several opportunities for alternative energy projects in the communities, one being wind in Inuvik.
The estimated cost for that project would be almost $30 million, with a $15 million subsidy. The GNWT estimated that would reduce GHG emissions by 5,208 tonnes per year.
