Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure who has lead responsibility for the 2030 Energy Strategy, and her department commissioned a recent research on biofuels in the NWT.
Now that we know the promise and the challenges that biofuels present, I'd like to know from the Minister what are the next steps and proposed timeline? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT recently commissioned a study on liquid biofuels, such as ethanol, bio diesel, and renewable diesel. The study found that there are significant challenges with ethanol and bio diesel in our old climate and our longterm storage requirements. The study did find that renewable diesel could be used as a diesel substitute in the Northwest Territories if the formula is right. However, right now, there is a limited international production of renewable diesel, and what is being produced is being sold under a contract and cannot be brought into open market. Once we get the renewable diesel that meets our cold climate requirements, we will attempt to get some perhaps to do a trial study. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. It's my understanding that there's quite a bit of unallocated money remaining from the federal Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund but that there's some conditions that prevent its use to fund trials.
Can the Minister tell us how much money is left to be allocated and whether her department will ask the federal government to permit use of these funds for trials of biofuels? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now, and this is subject to change as we have our yearend numbers, there's approximately $2.7 million available under the GHG grant program for buildings and industry until March 2024.
Under our federal rules, LCELF funding cannot be used for operational expenses such as biofuels. We have asked the federal government if there's any flexibility, and they have responded that there is not.
We do track federal funding programs, and we will continue to look for a program that might find funding for this type of project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I'm happy to work with her to put some pressure on the feds.
So a significant portion of the carbon tax paid by large emitters goes to fund installation of greenhouse gas reduction infrastructure but switching to biofuels doesn't really require any infrastructure. And it's not clear what whether the retained carbon tax money set aside for GHG reductions can be used to purchase biofuels.
Can the Minister confirm whether any of the GNWTretained carbon taxes and/or the large emitter trust funds can be used to purchase biofuels for testing and use in the NWT? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Finance administers the Large Emitter Grant Program. However, I do want to perhaps, with my colleague's permission, speak a bit about the program.
It is an applicationbased program that allows large emitters to receive grants up to the amount in their individual account for projects that reduce their GHG emissions at least 5 percent from the baseline business as usual. If a switch to biofuels from regular diesel will reduce GHG emissions by 5 percent on an ongoing basis, then the large emitter may apply for a grant for those costs of the switch. The cost of the liquid biofuels itself would not be an eligible cost.
The Large Emitter Grant Program does not include grants for research. However, if the research is applied and produces a 5 percent reduction in GHG emissions from the baseline, then large emitter may apply for a large emitter grant.
Retained carbon taxes going to general revenues and are allocated based on government priorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. That's probably some of the best reasons I've ever heard to change the large emitter trust account and the policy around that. I talked to the Minister of Finance about it. She committed to review it. Nothing's changed. Nothing.
But I want to turn to the report on biofuels identified that 75 percent of the territory's emissions come from industry. I understand that De Beers is a large emitter, as a corporation has committed to carbon neutral by 2030. Yukon government is relying on biofuels as part of its climate change work. The feds are working on clean standards. There's a lot of things working together here. We just need to get our own government on board.
So can the Minister tell us whether there are any plans to partner with industry or other governments to conduct a trial of biofuels in the NWT? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We would gladly partner with industry for such a project. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, the availability of Arcticgrade product is a challenge. We understand that there are several renewable diesel refinery projects that are under development in Canada, and we hope this will lead to Arcticgrade renewable diesel becoming available for purchase soon. You know, when this happens, we'll be able to look to partners to be able to trial this project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
