New Sudbury energy plan seeks to bring 'transformative change'

As hydro rates skyrocket, and residents in Sudbury receive mixed messages about the future of natural gas heating, one group has produced a plan that aimsto allow home owners to produce their own energy.

Janet Gasparini, chair of the Community Energy Planning Committee, wants to see Sudbury become a leader in energy production, conservation and new technologies.

180 other communities already have a plan in place

Gasparini said the first step was to outline a community energy plan, and noted that 180 communities already have one in place.

"We think the plan will bring transformative change to Sudbury," she said.

Then she enlisted the help of Siemens International to generate ideas for the technological groundwork.

"We want to come up with ways to capture the energy that's lost from our homes," Gasparini said, "[and] create technology that would create net zero homes so people don't have to pay energy bills anymore because they are producing their own energy."

Gasparini also points to the waste energy and waste heat from Sudbury mines that could be reused.

"I talked about the waste heat coming off the mines in Sudbury and what is the technology to capture that and recycle that and reuse that to heat buildings," she said, "that's free energy that's flying up into the atmosphere. So how do we do that?"

Bringing the costs of electricity down would not only put more money in the pockets of homeowners, but make Sudbury a potential destination for business.

Getting the right people with the right tools

"If we can reduce costs in the community overall by 20 per cent, what would it mean to all of those entities?" Gasparini said,"we certainly believe it would be a boom to our local economy."

Gasparini noted that of the 180 communities with plans, many of them didn't benefit from more jobs or reduced energy costs, or were buried under other community policies. She doesn't want to see that happen in Sudbury.

"We've got an application to get $50,000 from the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation.Then we can start mapping out our energy plan in the fall," she said.

"It's about putting the right people in the room with the right tools."