WESTLOCK COUNTY – There was an informative energy efficiency and renewable energy show held on March 22 at the Fawcett Community Hall hosted by Westlock County.
“I am developing a three-year energy management program for the county, and it just makes sense to keep the community involved,” said Patrick Jean, municipal energy manager with Westlock County.
“This is a good way to both show what we're doing and to help people out.”
Jean said the show provided a visual and hands-on experience to learn about energy saving and renewables. He coordinated several organizations to share their expertise and visual representations in residential energy-saving initiatives.
Dora L’Heureux, stakeholder relations manager from Fortis, was on hand to answer energy questions and provide guidance in the process of moving to an alternate energy system like solar.
Fortis has implemented an outage alert system that will send a text if there is an outage in your area when the power goes out and when power is restored. It has an online outage map that residents can access to see where outages have occurred, but the new texting system is specific to the user's property.
This means there will be no more wondering if a location is part of a general outage, or if there is a separate situation that needs to be reported.
Residents can sign up for the text alerts and get access to the outage map on the Fortis website at https://www.fortisalberta.com/outages/power-outage-alerts.
L’Heureux gave useful information on available grants for landowners and important actions that should be taken when considering solar.
Solar systems can be set up without battery packs to store the energy, explained Jordan Kruhlak from Glean, a solar broker. Residents can load solar power into the grid while it is collecting and use power off the grid when needed at the property.
L’Heureux explained landowners considering solar need to work with Fortis and complete a process to determine whether the lines in that area can support accepting solar power into the grid.
There are several factors that need to be evaluated, including the power lines’ capability available and the type of solar system being considered.
Glean offers support for those who need help in determining the type of solar system needed and assistance in selecting the right solar system vendor.
L’Heureux cautioned landowners to work with Fortis to evaluate their situation before taking any steps to commit to a solar system.
Matt Ingvardsen, registered energy advisor from Energy Werx Corporation, provided information on free assessments for residents to analyze possible energy saving steps landowners can take within their homes.
These free assessments will arrange for a walk-through to evaluate energy systems, windows, insulation and other energy aspects of a property.
The assessment results are provided to the landowner with recommendations on what steps can help increase energy savings.
Joseph Henke with Emissions-Neutral Building Information Exchange (Enbix) was on hand with their visual models of home siding energy options and to share information on sustainable building practices.
The models showed several different types of approaches that can be taken to increase energy efficiency in buildings.
Enbix is a charity that primarily works with commercial builders providing supports to ensure installation of energy-saving approaches are built to provide maximum efficiency.
The Electric Vehicle Association of Alberta was also on hand, and provided visitors with information on the benefits of electric vehicles.
Adam Eustace, EVAA director, explained that in addition to fuel savings, electric vehicles don’t need oil changes which saves thousands in maintenance costs per year.
A fully charged an electric car can travel up to 400 kilometres and a truck can travel over 700 kilometres with ranges varying dependant on the vehicle.
In one example, their material compared a Tesla Model 3 long range AWD to a BMW 330ix for costs per year if driven 15,000 kilometres. The Tesla’s electric charges cost was $360, and the BMW’s annual fuel cost was $1,993.
The association website, www.albertaEV.ca, provides a resource for all EV questions.
Susan Courty with the Women in Renewable Energy organization was also at the show to provide information on a variety of renewable energy options.
She provided information on geothermal setups with guidelines in ground depths and processes to follow.
The organization has a wealth of information available to share on renewable energy options by visiting www.womeninrenewableenergy.ca
According to Jean, more shows will be happening in the future throughout the county, with the next event planned for June.
This information is valuable to residents in the Town of Westlock, the County of Westlock and the hamlet of Clyde, as part of the tri-municipal council area.
