Mr. Speaker, the Department of Public Works and Services’ efforts to achieve our government’s energy conservation goals are paying off. Through energy conservation programs and initiatives, we are reducing our government’s greenhouse gas emissions, achieving considerable cost savings and reducing our dependency on fuel oil. These initiatives are key to effective and efficient government, and protect our environment so it will sustain present and future generations. Energy conservation isn’t a single program or initiative. It is our normal way of doing business. It affects every department in our government and it is having real results.
The Capital Asset Retrofit Fund program is one of the PWS-managed energy conservation programs that is having great success. Through this program, we focus on reducing operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions by assessing government facilities and identifying the buildings that are best suited for energy saving retrofits and upgrades.
Our energy conservation initiatives have eliminated the need for six million litres of heating oil. In the past five years, this saved the government $2.65 million and reduced our government’s greenhouse gas emissions by 16,600 tonnes. Since utility funding was consolidated in Public Works and Services in 2010-11, our energy conservation initiatives have saved the government $654,000 in ongoing utility costs each year.
Our early estimates from last year’s energy conservation initiatives show that we could generate an additional half million dollars in ongoing annual utility cost savings. This could bring the estimated utility savings for the past two years to $1.204 million. The cumulative reductions in greenhouse gas emissions could reach 25,156 tonnes by the end of the 2012 year.
A few examples of our highly successful energy projects currently in service would be:
lighting system improvements for the Deh Gah School in Fort Providence;
a new biomass hearing system for Chief Jimmy Bruneau School in Behchoko;
an energy-efficient lighting retrofit for the Grandfather Ayha School in Deline; and
an energy-efficient lighting retrofit and a building envelope upgrade completed for the nurses residence in Inuvik.
Alternative energy solutions are also being incorporated in the renovation and construction of buildings as part of Public Works and Services’ design considerations. The renovations for Ecole St. Joseph School included a $250,000 investment in biomass heating. The GNWT will be investing over $1.5 million in alternative energy heating solutions as part of new capital projects like the health centre in Hay River.
While the cost savings are impressive, the savings realized are now directly funding other energy-efficient projects starting in 2012-13. This is the first step towards making the Capital Asset Retrofit Fund a self-sustaining government program this year.
Thanks in part to the ongoing support of this Assembly, the GNWT has become a leader in energy conservation.
Mr. Speaker, program monitoring along with the sharing of best practices with other jurisdictions, the private sector and our residents is very important in demonstrating leadership in the GNWT’s energy conservation efforts. To that end, the department has finished publishing its second annual Energy Conservation Projects Report, which I will be tabling later today.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
