Cutting heating costs, developing new skills
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/02/2015 (4131 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Free Press took a tour of geothermal projects on the Interlake First Nations of Fisher River and Peguis one bright but bitter windy day this week.
The two neighbouring First Nations are 220 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg on Highway 17. Both want to convert all their heating needs to geothermal.
For the last two years, they’ve quietly gone about the conversion through a Manitoba Hydro homeowner loan program and the help of an energy brokerage called Aki Energy.
“In about eight years, we’ll be all caught up; all the older homes and the administration buildings will all be geothermal,” said Mervin Murdock, manager of Fisher River Builders Ltd.
“We’ll be just about off the grid,” added Sam Murdock, Fisher River’s director of operations.
Monthly heating bills for an 1,800-square-foot bungalow should come in at about $200, including repayment for the Manitoba Hydro pay-as-you-save program.
And in the summer, the system can be used to bring in cool air.
“It’s a great way not only to heat our homes and cool them in the summer, but also to allow better air flow in the homes,” noted Peguis Chief Glenn Hudson.
A further innovation on Peguis is solar-panel installations, overseen by a Winnipeg industry leader, Dan Jung, the head of Northern Lights Solar Solutions.
“There’s a big lineup for people who want to do this. There aren’t many places where people sit around the coffee shop and talk about saving energy,” he said.