Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Conversion of our energy systems to renewables supports development of a home-grown industry, frees our people from unpredictable and rising fuel costs and cuts greenhouse gas emissions. It provides major economic and employment opportunities at the community level. To pursue those benefits, we need a detailed understanding of the supply of forest resources and their sustainable use.
The Biomass Strategy calls for work with communities to assess the potential use of biomass energy to encourage a stable and economic supply of NWT pellets in our communities, to build a combined heat and power community energy system and to identify viable business models to support these objectives. The strategy commits to evaluate and quantify sustainable wood resources around communities.
Completion of inventories and sustainability assessments are overdue. The strategy also commits to putting in place our first biomass combined heat and power community system, but where is it?
Detailed forest inventories are well underway in the South Slave and Deh Cho, but sustainability assessments have only been completed in the South Slave. A supply assessment has begun for Norman Wells, but information is lacking for other communities.
Private enterprise has proposed a wood pellet manufacturing plant for construction in the South Slave, though it’s delayed for a year due to a lack of forest access. Access and known sustainable yields are key needs for viable businesses.
Feasibility studies are increasingly identifying opportunities of local biomass, both as heating fuel and for co-generation of electricity, but progress towards realizing these opportunities requires an improved foundation of knowledge and facilitation with access and supply issues.
The NTPC Minister announced the intention to complete a strategic plan for energy system development in the coming months. To show the way and meet the commitments of the Biomass Strategy, this plan needs to include a combined heat and power community energy system delivered on the ground.
For biomass to play a big role in a stable energy future, accessible feed stocks for such energy production are an essential element of this strategy. Despite the stated goals of the strategy, I note funding of the Biomass Strategy has been unconscionably decimated in the budget from $1.55 million to a mere $100,000 this year. More later.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
