A federal grant could be available to help Coronation town council offset the cost of accessing an energy efficiency audit system, designed to help improve energy efficiency and lower consumption usage in town-owned facilities.
At its regular meeting Tues. Oct. 24 council listened to a Zoom presentation by Peter Hart, business development manager at SustainErgy Group Inc. The group, based out of Sherwood Park, helps clients reduce operating costs by identifying and capitalizing on energy efficiency opportunities.
Hart also spoke to council about the opportunity to access the Federation of Canada Municipalities (FCM) grant if they agreed to work with Sustainergy Group Inc.
During his presentation, Hart explained to council how SustainErgy Group would install a monitoring device which would, ultimately, be a cost-efficient and effective way to keep track of energy consumption.
“We diagnose where the energy is going and improve the efficiency by monitoring and looking for irregularities,” he said. “Over time we can also measure the deterioration of equipment.”
Hart said the cost of installing such a system at the arena, curling rink and pool would be approximately $28,276 which would be offset by a federal grant of around $22,621, leaving the town with a bill of $5,600. The yearly fee for the energy efficiency audit system is $1,500.
This cost is covered by the grant in the first year of installation but would then be a yearly fee charged to the municipality.
Hart told council that 70 per cent of the FCM grant would be available at the initial start of the project, although he noted it could take up to a year to receive approval.
Council, who accepted the presentation as information, questioned the viability of including the clubhouse at the golf course in the audit system.
CAO Quinton Flint said he would follow council’s direction to collaborate with Hart to find out information regarding the clubhouse and also to further investigate the possibility of going ahead with the project.
Treena Mielke
ECA Review
