Arctic defence goes green:
military urged to work with northern energy companies,
Canada’s military has been urged to go green in the Great White North.
A group of Defence Department advisers has concluded that the spread of renewable energy, electric vehicles and new sewage treatment technologies in the Arctic will go a long way to bolstering the military’s activities and presence in the region.
For that reason, the Defence Science Advisory Board has recommended the Department of National Defence work with northern communities, energy companies and territorial governments to spread these innovations for the benefit of all parties.
The Defence Science Advisory Board is made up of academics, analysts and industry representatives who provide the department with advice.
Their final report was given to senior military leaders in April 2012, but only recently made public through access-to-information laws.
The Arctic has been a priority for the Department of National Defence since the Conservative government first promised to protect Canadian sovereignty and foster economic development in the region in 2007.
The advisers found that all military installations must have electricity, water, garbage disposal and sewage treatment, no matter where they are in the country.
However, they also noted “in the remote communities in the Arctic, unlike in southern Canada, there is little surplus available in the services provided by the utilities present in the isolated communities.”
Co-operation and collaboration with local communities and governments offer a real opportunity of addressing these concerns, the advisory board said.
One example was to work with Nunavut’s Qulliq Energy, which is the only energy company in the country that relies entirely on imported fossil fuels to supply electricity to the communities within its distribution area.
The electricity generation and distribution system in each of those 25 communities are not linked, and there is no backup grid.
“This situation provides a significant opportunity for DND as well as other agencies of the Federal government to work together with Qulliq Energy to introduce renewable energy into these communities to enhance energy security by reducing their dependency on imported fossil fuels,” the advisory board wrote. It would also provide a more secure energy source for military facilities located near those communities and served by Qulliq, the advisers added.
The advisory board noted supplying water to northern communities and removing sewage was a laborious, expensive yet necessary process. They recommended that the Department of National Defence push new, more environmentally sound and energy-efficient water purification and sewage treatment technologies in Arctic communities situated near Canadian military installations.
“These should be used whenever possible as old facilities are replaced and new facilities built to handle the rapid growth in population being experienced throughout the North,” the advisers wrote.
The Canadian Press reported Sunday that the military has been testing a new hybrid-electric snowmobile nicknamed Loki.
However, the Defence Department said it was unable to respond to questions about the advisory board’s report on Monday, including whether it had taken any action on the recommendations put forward.