Vulcan Receives $2.2 Million for Wood and Solar-Based District Energy Initiative

January 18, 2010

Macleod, Alta. – Ted Menzies, Member of Parliament for Macleod, on behalf of Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, along with Basil Stewart, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), announced $2,200,000 in Green Municipal Fund (GMF) grant and loan contributions to the Town of Vulcan to help create a subdivision heated with renewable fuels.

“The Government of Canada is assisting municipalities across the country in achieving their goal of a cleaner and healthier environment for Canadians through the Green Municipal Fund,” said Menzies. “This announcement is another example of how our government — in partnership with FCM — is helping communities such as Vulcan build a greener future for Canadians.”
 
Vulcan’s 63-acre Healy subdivision, on the southern boundary of the current residential neighborhood, is a community differentiated by being heated with renewable fuels through a district energy system enabling the use of both wood biomass and thermal solar collectors. When completed, the development will consist of 300 units in a mix of multifamily apartments and detached homes. Low cost housing and senior-oriented housing will be significant components of the development.
 
“FCM’s Green Municipal Fund offers a range of resources and services that specifically address the sustainable community development needs of municipal governments,” said Stewart. “The financing and knowledge provided by the Fund supports the development of communities that are more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.”

Vulcan is pursuing summer thermal demand and interruptible demand clients so that underutilized thermal plant capacity can be used in spring, summer and fall. The nearby hospital, high school and proposed emergency services building are all potential customers with summer and/or interruptible demand. This is part of a growing cluster of renewable energy projects in and around Vulcan. An ethanol plant, a waste combustion facility, and a wood waste and coal combined heat and power plant have also been proposed.

The Green Municipal Fund is an endowment financed by the Government of Canada and managed by FCM. The Fund supports partnerships and leveraging of both public and private-sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.