Diane Archie: 2030 Energy Strategy Update

Déclarations et discours de ministres

Yellowknife — 9 mars 2023

Check against delivery

Mr. Speaker, in 2018, the Government of the Northwest Territories released the 2030 Energy Strategy, our roadmap to supporting secure, affordable, and sustainable energy in the NWT.

Guided by the Energy Strategy, the Climate Change Strategic Framework and the GNWT’s mandate, we are working to increase the use of alternative and renewable energy and reduce the territory’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr. Speaker, as of 2020 the NWT’s greenhouse gas emissions were 19 percent below 2005 levels. The reduction target we have committed to is 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, and we are on track to meet that target.

However, we all know that much can and will change during the life of the Energy Strategy. Technologies improve. New ways of doing things emerge. New government policies cause shifts in how we produce and use energy.

That is why the GNWT and its partners have always taken an adaptive approach to the strategy. This allows us to take advantage of new technologies and opportunities as they arise.

In December of last year, we released the 2022-2025 Energy Action Plan. The Action Plan builds on the actions and initiatives of the previous plan and sets out what we plan to do over the next three years.

What we plan to do is ambitious, we are going to invest $194 million to implement 68 actions and initiatives that advance the six strategic objectives in the Energy Strategy. We expect this investment and the work outlined in the updated Action Plan will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51 kilotonnes by 2025.

Guided by the Action Plan, the GNWT will also continue to explore and advance transformative projects, such as the Fort-Providence-Kakisa Transmission Line, a fast-charging corridor for electric vehicles stretching from Yellowknife to the Alberta border, and emerging low-carbon technologies like renewable diesel and hydrogen. This will lead to significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions and increase the use of alternative and renewable energy in the territory beyond 2025.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT is about to start the review of the Energy Strategy. We committed to review it every five years so that it remains current and reflects what is realistic and achievable in the North.

The GNWT has completed modelling work to better understand what options for a low-carbon future could look like in the North. This work will be instrumental in the review of the Energy Strategy and will be used to evaluate and manage our progress.

This review will also include extensive public engagement to understand where we can improve the energy actions and initiatives to better serve the people of the NWT.  When it is completed, we will have the information needed to re-evaluate the strategy’s strategic objectives to ensure they represent what is achievable, given both new technologies, and the opportunities and realities of the North.

Mr. Speaker, this is challenging but necessary work.

As we implement the updated Energy Action Plan and review the 2030 Energy Strategy, the GNWT will evaluate the successes, like our energy efficiency programs and biomass heating initiatives, assess where we can improve, and look for new opportunities to help us achieve the strategy’s vision of supporting secure, affordable and sustainable energy in the Northwest Territories.

Quyananni, Mr. Speaker.