The Energy Efficiency and Fuel Switching program is an opportunity to remove many of the emissions generated in Newfoundland and Labrador, according to the Executive Director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association.
Back in the fall, the provincial government announced the plan to retrofit public sector facilities reliant on fossil fuels. Work has now begun to switch those buildings over to electricity.
Kieran Hanley says the amount of fossil fuels being used in public facilities and the greenhouse gas emissions that emanate from that are quite substantial over a period of time.
He says we have an energy mix that is about to be almost 100 per cent clean with Muskrat Falls coming online, and the province has an opportunity to use that electricity to remove all of those emissions that are generated here in the province.
As for how green Muskrat Falls really is in comparison to the use of oil, Hanley says there is always a debate on how green any particular source of energy is.
When you look at hydro, Hanley says Muskrat Falls is an asset that will be in place for decades and decades, therefore the impact, from an environmental perspective, is significantly lower than diesel.
$25.96-million is earmarked for the program 2018-2022, being cost-shared 50-50 with the Federal government.