For the sake of creating a CEEP, the “Practical Tactics” approach would likely work best for Ft. Simpson and many of the smaller NWT communities to refine the Community Energy Plans that were created at least 5 years ago as part of the Integrated Community Sustainability Planning process. This approach could also be suitable since Community Energy Profiles were also created for each of the 33 NWT communities by the Arctic Energy Alliance in 2007-08 (e.g. the profile for Ft. Simpson: http://aea.nt.ca/files/download/213).
Yet, given that the data for the Community Energy Profiles is almost a decade old, there is a need to update these profiles in tandem with refining/updating the CEPs. Depending on the AEA’s success in securing funding to facilitate this process to update CEPs with NWT communities, the more likely approach for the smaller NWT communities is more readily going to continue to be to “Just DO IT!”
Many of the NWT communities have been doing exactly that, with or without any direct or conscious connection to the existing CEP for each community … with the help of AEA in many instances and independently pursued in other cases. There have been numerous Solar PV, Solar Thermal, Biomass, Waste Heat Recovery, Woodstove Replacement, “Burn-it-Smart,” and LED lighting retrofit installations being undertaken throughout the NWT by communities, businesses, utility providers (e.g. NT Power Corp. 100 kW Solar PV installation), and territorial government departments. In addition, there is significant interest by a number of communities to explore and create district heating systems.
Given the strong, frontier mentality of many northern folks in various business or leadership positions, the “Just Do It” approach may continue to push on more readily in the NWT than the more painstakingly done process of refining/developing existing plans or creating completely new plans, that requires dedicated time, energy, and funds that are often in short supply for such activities amid the many other challenges/details that community leaders are trying to address.
