$640,000 given to two Beaufort Delta energy projects
The federal government has given a total of $640,000 to fund two energy projects located in Paulatuk and Fort McPherson.
The funding focuses on helping rural and remote communities combat climate change by reducing reliance on diesel fuel for heat and power.
Around $440,000 will go to the Paulatuk Community Corporation’s Beaufort Hamlet Energy Initiative, a project in which Paulatuk works with Ulukhaktok to develop a community energy plan that supports energy-efficient and renewable projects.
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“Our goal is to create long-term employment, build local skills, reduce energy costs and reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels,” Ray Ruben, chair of the Paulatuk Energy Working Group, is quoted as saying.
The second sum of $200,000 will go to the Rat River Development Corporation to build a sustainable wood chip supply for Gwich’in peoples.
The wood chips will be locally harvested from willow trees and used in biomass systems in and around Fort McPherson.