Unveiling the Legislative Assembly's new wood pellet boiler are, from left, Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms Derek Edjericon, the Hon. Paul Delorey, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the NWT, and Sergeant-at-Arms Brian Thagard.

Legislative Assembly Unveils Wood Pellet Boiler

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the Honourable Paul Delorey, announced on Friday, October 29, 2010 that the Legislative Assembly’s wood pellet boiler is now fully functional.

The wood pellet boiler was installed at the Legislative Assembly in June by a Yellowknife company called Arctic Green Energy. Arctic Green Energy has installed a number of wood pellet boilers within Yellowknife.

“In the past few years, the Legislative Assembly has been working on some green initiatives. We’ve dropped the pop, we’ve reduced the amount of paper consumed by the Assembly, we use low voltage lighting in the legislature and we’ve purchased a hybrid vehicle. Now we’re working on reducing our fuel consumption and our carbon footprint,” says Speaker Delorey.

The wood pellet boiler system will offset 90% of the annual fuel consumption in the Legislative Assembly building and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 240 tonnes per year. It will also be able to handle 50% of the building’s maximum winter heating load.

Photo of Watta Lake Lodge's CARB-3 certified outboard motor in action taken by G. Frederick.

Watta Lake Lodge receives rebate on outboard saving money on gas & reducing GHG emissions

This summer Robin Wotherspoon of Watta Lake Lodge bought a Tohatsu 20 horse power outboard motor from TLC Marine.

By purchasing a motor that is CARB-3 certified, Robin qualified for a $250 rebate from the Energy Efficiency Incentive Program (EEIP).

Watta Lake Lodge will also save money by purchasing less gas, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and be able to go farther before refueling.

This is a great way for Watta Lake Lodge to help reduce Greenhouse Gas in the Northwest Territories.

NWT filmmaker goes carbon neutral!

An NWT filmmaker has decided that her documentary on the Mackenzie Gas Project will be carbon neutral!

NWT filmmaker France Benoit used the proceeds from the premiere of her 2009 film One River, Two Shores: Reflections on the Mackenzie Gas Project to purchase carbon credits through Carbon Neutral North. She then matched those funds with money out of her pocket to support a local project that’s reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The result is a carbon neutral film!

France says she got the idea after reading about a Quebec director on the website Green Code who had decided to purchase carbon offsets but to also support local organizations working to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in her home province.

The first step was donating the proceeds from her film’s debut in Yellowknife to offset half of the 29 tonnes of GHGs that France estimates were produced in the making of One River, Two Shores: Reflections on the Mackenzie Gas Project.

“I kept really good notes during the writing of the film, during the production – which included travel up and down the Mackenzie Valley and every boat, car and plane ride taken by the crew from Winnipeg – and the post production which was done in Winnipeg,” says France.

 As for donating to a local project, France’s decision was fairly straight forward since she’s married to Ecology North program director Doug Ritchie. France donated to Ecology North’s program to help local non-profit organizations and low income seniors reduce their fuel consumption and GHG emissions.

For more information about France Benoit and her 2009 film, go to Northern News Services article.

GNWT Research Station proves alternative energy really works!

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) received an Honourable Mention in the 2009 Energy Action Awards Business/Institution Category for its Tundra Ecosystem Research Station located 300 kilometres north of Yellowknife on the tundra.

The Tundra Ecosystem Research Station was established by the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) in 1994 as a base for environmental research and monitoring studies.  The concept was to build a small, state-of-the-art facility using alternative energy and the latest technologies in heating, waste management and bear deterrents. These include 16 solar panels which provide a total of 1,340 watts of power and a 220V Whisper wind generator that provides one Kw of power.

Over the past 15 years the Tundra Ecosystem Research Station has grown from three to 10 buildings and is home to many local, regional, national and international research and monitoring studies. It operates each April to September with an average of about 10 researchers in camp at a time.

 It continues to be a model facility and demonstration project for an alternative energy, high efficiency, remote field camp operating in the harsh tundra environment.  Visitors to the station, researchers and students have an opportunity to learn about efficiencies, cost savings and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that can be realized when alternative technologies. 

For example, a conventional camp would use 4,247 litres of diesel fuel to generate electricity and 2,050 litres of heating oil and emit a total of 17,442 Kg of CO₂.  The Tundra Ecosystem Research Station generates all of its electricity using solar and wind power and uses 1,025 litres of heating oil which results in 2,839 Kg of CO₂. 

Although the Tundra Ecosystem Research Station cost $54,000 to set up as compared to $7,600 for a conventional camp, it costs only $6,358 annually to run the station – as compared to more than $34,000 annually to run the conventional camp.

The station is not only used for research and monitoring but is also home to the Tundra Science Camp, an outdoor environmental education centre for high school students from the City of Yellowknife and the surrounding area.

Scott Crockett of the North West Co., left, receives the Business/Institution category award from  NWT Deputy Premier Michael Miltenberger on behalf of the Ft. Simpson Northern Store.

Fort Simpson Northern Store wins 2009 Energy Action Award

The Northwest Company (NC), which owns Northern Stores throughout the NWT, has made substantial investments in energy efficiency over the past few years. Its corporate commitment is summarized as: Green Design – a challenge that brings together daily function with environmental awareness.

In 2009 NC invested approximately $6 million in e/e initiatives in their Canadian properties, 85% in northern Canada and roughly half of that in the NWT. The company has upgraded Northern Stores in Fort Rae, Fort Liard, Fort Good Hope, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, Tuktoyaktuk and Holman.

The Northwest Territories Power Corporation completed a commercial energy audit o the Fort Simpson Store in 2009. The scope of the work involved reviewing and analyzing three years of historical use to set pre-audit baselines and identify anomalies, completing site visits to confirm details of installed equipment, and identifying opportunities to reduce energy usage and costs.

Later in 2009 the Fort Simpson Northern Store underwent energy efficiency upgrades to refrigeration, lighting, and heating systems totalling nearly $650,000.

The new refrigeration system is a good example of leading edge investments. It intakes winter and colder air for cooling and recovers heat from refrigerator motors to produce ambient warmth for the store.

Other investments that further assist the reduction in electricity consumption and power costs include:

1) High efficiency refrigeration cases with glass doors to maximize operating efficiencies. (no self contained or open coffin freezers);

2) LED lighting in all refrigeration cases;

3) Motion sensors mounted above refrigeration cases to turn lighting on only when a customer is present;

4) T8 lighting to reduce energy consumption;

5) Energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Lights to replace all incandescent bulbs;

6) Upgraded insulation values of building envelope.

The Northwest Company estimates that e/e improvements have seen up to 30% reductions in energy consumption at some locations. The Fort Simpson store has been operating with its suite of improvements since the end of September and electricity reductions for the October-December period exceed 25%.