Elders discuss sustainable community energy issues in Wha Ti.
The project’s Community Coordinator Sonny Zoe has insulated this hot water tank.
Local renewable energy revealed opportunities for the displacement of oil-generated electricity. Solar water heaters were one, and in June 2003 with support from the government of the NWT, one was installed at the Elders Residential Complex, and another on the house of an elder with ten occupants using a high volume of water. At this latitude, passive solar can still save 25-50% of space heating costs compared to houses built without regard to solar gain. Thus, recommendations on planning lot orientations and construction of houses is being made to the com- munity and the local housing authority. Many residents in Wha Ti heat their homes, or supplement conventional fuel oil furnaces, with wood stoves. Opportunities for increasing the efficiency of the stoves have been identified, including a replacement program with EPA-approved models including pellet stoves and the increased use of dry wood over green wood. This past fall the Arctic Energy Alliance assessed nine houses using Natu- ral Resource Canada’s Energy Efficiency EnerGuide. The new houses in Wha Ti scored well, averaging 74.6 (EnerGuide scale: 66 to 74 equals typical new house and 75 to 79 equals an energy efficient new house).
Older houses are more problematic, with longer term paybacks for energy upgrades, however, new house replacement costs are very high, requiring significant capital investment. Paying high operating costs are sometimes systemically more palatable than are new capital investments. Water and sewage services is the next step in community energy plan- ning. In energy terms, these costs are often greater than space heating, even in this cold, sub-arctic environment. We will focus on reducing water consumption, recycling water, on-site sewage treatment and reducing sewage volumes. The biggest opportunity for increased efficiency and replacement of fossil fuel with renewable energy is development of run of the river hydroelectricity. About 20 km from Wha Ti, on the La Martre River, is a dramatic twin falls with a series of steep rapids. A 1980s pre-feasibility study found that for a ‘large’ (32MW) project, a mile-long dam, several coffer dams, considerable storage, and a large (currently non-existent) market would be needed. After many workshops and discussions the community decided to pursue the feasibility of a 1.2 MW run of the
On Site review 11
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Spring 2004
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