ST. PAUL – The regional municipal energy manager for the County of St. Paul, Town of St. Paul, Town of Elk Point, and Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay is suggesting investment in energy efficiency and fuel-efficient vehicles and equipment will be required to mitigate future cost increases in carbon tax.
According to Ron Dechaine, regional municipal energy manager, the carbon tax in Canada is set to increase every calendar year until 2030. He spoke to County of St. Paul council during a delegation at a Public Works meeting on Feb. 28.
Dechaine explained that back in 2020, carbon tax was rated at $30 a tonne, and increased to $50 per tonne on 2022. Carbon tax will increase every April 1 of every year, increasing to $65 this year. The tax is set to increase to $170 a tonne in 2030
Last year, the County’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission was 5,432 tonnes. Dechaine estimated the County paid $244,295 in carbon tax in 2022, an increase of 66 per cent compared to $147,256 in 2020.
He said carbon tax will continue to increase across the nation, and the County of St. Paul is projected to pay $842,963 in annual carbon taxes by 2030 – an increase of 472 per cent from 2020.
Breakdown summary
In his presentation, Dechaine noted that the County had a total energy use of 77,660 gigajoules for 2022 - 83 per cent comes from 1.6 million litres of diesel used, which is 64,322 if converted to gigajoules. Seven per cent of the energy used comes from natural gas or 5,166 gigajoules, six percent comes from 138,314 litres of gasoline or 4,794 if converted to gigajoules, and four per cent comes from electricity at 938,833 kWh, or 3,378 if converted to gigajoules.
Of the County’s total 5,432 tonnes of GHG emissions, diesel contributed 80 per cent, while natural gas, gasoline, and electricity make up the rest of the 20 per cent.
Fleet equipment
According to Dechaine, County fleet equipment had the highest energy usage at 89 per cent and 83 per cent came from diesel fuel. Overall, County fleet equipment emitted 4,639 tonnes of GHG, making up 85 per cent of the County’s total GHG emissions.
The remaining 11 per cent is from natural gas and electricity used in the County’s infrastructure.
County of St. Paul Reeve Glen Ockerman said the numbers presented likely do not truly reflect what the County is paying in carbon tax, explaining there are other items that have a carbon tax that have not been accounted for.
Coun. Darryl Younghans agreed, stating, “I bet you it’s four to five times bigger than that.”
Potential projects
Dechaine presented projects the County could explore in the future, including a project known as ‘Three Sixty Solar.’
According to information from Three Sixty Solar, the company claims its “solar towers” as the “first of its kind.” The company says its solar power “dramatically” increases land use and maximizes energy yield per acre, as opposed to conventional ground mount solars.
The company also claims that 80 to 90 per cent of the land the solar towers are built on can be used for other purposes.
“It would be nice to [set] some kind of energy savings target,” County-wide, said Dechaine.
CAO Sheila Kitz explained setting a goal would help administration identify projects to look at, as well as help with the logistics of achieving a set goal, and also advise County council on ideas of costs associated with possible projects.
After more discussion, County council filed the presentation as information.
