The city could soon study how to phase out natural gas heat at all Winnipeg buildings and swap in greener alternatives.
A new motion seeks a city staff report to spell out tools and methods to ultimately replace fossil fuel use in existing and planned buildings, suggesting grants, bylaws and new zoning/permitting rules could be included in the plan.
The city’s Climate Action and Resilience Committee will debate the motion on Oct. 28.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Councillor Brian Mayes: “We have ambitious targets.”
“We have ambitious targets about cutting down our building heating use of natural gas but we don’t seem to be doing anything yet, so let’s do something,” said Coun. Brian Mayes, the committee’s chairman.
The support of the water, waste and environment committee would also be needed to order the report.
Winnipeg’s council-endorsed Community Energy Investment Roadmap calls for the city to shift from natural gas and gasoline to electricity and reach zero natural gas use before 2050, the motion notes.
“It is ambitious but council passed this road map. This (motion) is a good way of forcing a debate about what it is we actually want to do and can do in this term of council,” said Mayes. “There are certainly societal benefits from cutting down on the (fossil fuel) energy. It’s part of a larger puzzle. If you focus (only) on automobile emissions or composting, you’re missing part of what contributes to climate change.”
The St. Vital councillor suggested the city could offer grants that help businesses switch to greener energy sources and/or impose deadlines and limits for natural gas use, as part of a reduction strategy.
An environmental advocate said a shift away from natural gas use is critical to combating climate change, since space heating accounts for about 20 per cent of emissions. And while government interest and targets have grown for electric vehicles and charging stations, little has been done to support the transition from this type of fossil fuel use, said Curt Hull, a project director with Climate Change Connection.
“When it comes to building heating electrification, it’s a much more difficult sell but it’s critical … There will be a day in the future where we will not use fossil fuels at all. That’s just the pathway to survival,” said Hull. “Hopefully this study will show us how to … (make) our buildings as efficient as they can be and (make) the use of electricity as efficient as possible.”
The primary obstacle to shifting to electric heat is its cost, which is notably higher than gas when using traditional technology, he said. However, a geothermal system can make electric power far more efficient, producing more heat from the same energy input, Hull said.
“Our planning must be along those lines. That’s the only responsible thing to do. Climate change is going to force us into a situation in the not-too-distant future where we’ll realize that we can’t burn the fossil fuels anymore because it continues to increase the heating of the planet,” he said.
A Manitoba Hydro spokesman said the Crown Corporation doesn’t have the generating capacity to support a mass switch from natural gas to electric heat across the province at this point. To ensure the grid could meet peak energy demand without natural gas, while using traditional technologies, the corporation would have to about double its current generating capacity and complete extensive infrastructure upgrades, wrote spokesman Peter Chura, in an email.
“The cost would be substantial, and rates would have to increase accordingly. However, there are many new technologies — such as geothermal heating, dual fuel electric and natural gas units, and air source heat pumps — which would reduce that increase in demand and associated increase in infrastructure and rates,” wrote Chura.
It’s not clear if the city will order the report. Coun. Evan Duncan said he’s concerned about having enough city staff and funding to take on another major environmental project, since the city is already required to complete multibillion-dollar sewage treatment upgrades.
“I want water, waste and the environment to be laser focused (on the sewage upgrades) and not be pulled in every direction,” said Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood), chairman of the water, waste and environment committee.
Duncan said he believes phasing out natural gas is a good idea in theory but the city has limited funding for such projects.
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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
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