Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was happy to hear the Minister speak about energy today.
Mr. Speaker, for a lifetime in the North we practise just one way to power our thermal communities: fill up the tank farm with fuel; turn on the massive generator; and let it run and run and run.
That fuel costs a lot of money. Transporting it costs even more. Now, Mr. Speaker, there's a generator running full speed ahead even when its power isn't needed. Across the NWT, there are many communities running like that right now as we speak.
Diesel is very inefficient. As much as 70 percent of that burning fuel literally evaporates into thin air. Can you believe only 30 percent is used for energy?
Mr. Speaker, we need a better way; a way that doesn't break the bank, doesn't cost more every year, and won't hurt the planet. Thankfully, Mr. Speaker, there are ideas out there. One Northerner, Jeff Phillip, shared his new idea with our committee last fall. You might know him from his SSI Micro, but his new company SSI Energy is promoting new and efficient energy systems. His idea is based on his family's owned assets in Fort Providence that have been operating off grid for many years.
Mr. Speaker, it works like this. Instead of one big generator, hook up a series of small ones. They're easier to ship, easier to install, and easier to maintain. When you need less power, turn one off. If one goes mechanical, you've got backup. With a small network, it's easy to add another energy supply component: solar panels and a wind turbine. Burn less fuel, much cleaner energy.
What about the wasted heat? Use heat exchangers to send that heat to homes, schools, businesses, even a community greenhouse.
Mr. Speaker, critics say that sun and wind is great, but you can't reliably store the energy. New super batteries can store more energy. They charge fast and discharge slowly. They can work in the cold and are environmentally sound. They are made of grapheme. Now, join all these pieces together with an energy server and you have a district energy system providing power and heat to neighbourhoods, commercial ventures, and entire small communities.
Mr. Speaker, environmental factors aside, cost alone dictates that we must get off diesel. If thermal communities can be powered more cheaply, subsidies will not be required. All Northerners will pay less.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, as Jeff says in his presentation, "This is not rocket science." All of this technology exists and is being used in other parts of the world. I ask, why not here? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.