Blatchford utility report sparks debate at city committee
Concerns raised over project’s viability with $93 million already slated for site
The reception of an annual report on the Blatchford renewable energy utility business plan by city council’s utility committee on Friday ignited debate over the risk of a $93-million non-refundable cash injection into the project for the city and developers.
Ward 9 Coun. Tim Cartmell raised concerns that the unknowns around the new utility’s cost and performance could be slowing the development of the carbon-neutral community on the former municipal airport lands in central Edmonton.
“The science on this works,” said Cartmell in committee on Friday, noting that he has heard concerns from industry about whether the utility, which relies on geothermal energy to heat homes and provide hot water, will work as expected and provide enough energy for the community through all phases of its development. “We can prove it can work here. But right now, we’re not.”
Blatchford, which encompasses 217 hectares, will be 100 per cent powered by renewable energy, be carbon-neutral and have an extremely reduced ecological footprint. The first four developers — who will build 43 homes in the west end of the property — have been announced, and the first of up to 30,000 residents are expected to move in at the beginning of 2020.
Initially, the city hoped to get funding from provincial and federal governments to stabilize costs for users of the new utility, ensuring they pay bills “comparable” to elsewhere in the city.
But council is now considering other options to fund the project, including raising property taxes by 0.4 per cent, which not all members of council are on board with.
Ward 4 Coun. Aaron Paquette noted subsidizing others’ utilities might be a “hard prospect for some to accept.”
Ward 2 Coun. Bev Esslinger called the community a “unique opportunity” for the city and Coun. Ben Henderson of Ward 8 added that the city is positioned to “take some risks others are unwilling to take” in order to get the project off the ground.
Friday’s debate saw committee members stress that not only will the utility have value after it is up and running, but that it is also a part of realizing Edmonton’s renewable energy transition strategy.
“This is a leadership piece (and an) element of market transformation,” said Mayor Don Iveson. “That uncertainty, that nervousness, is quite natural at this point in market transformations.”
bridging the gap
In an interview Friday afternoon, Cartmell agreed some hesitancy is normal but said there is still work to be done to bridge the “gap in confidence and in understanding” in the utility between developers and utility designers.
“There could be a potential detrimental effect, is that those who might build in Blatchford ... have opportunities to develop projects in other parts of the city,” said Cartmell, adding that if the utility does not perform as planned, there could be greater financial burdens for the city and taxpayers to take on.