$200,000 is being added to $300,000 Downtown Renewable Energy project

The Ramada Hotel in Prince George is looking to hook up to the Downtown Renewable Energy System, but that cost just jumped.

Preliminary costs for the project were expected to be around $300,000 in a City Council meeting back in October, but Monday’s meeting reported current labour and material costs bumped the job up to $500,000.

The money will be coming from the Northern Capital Planning Reserve Fund.

Only one bid was put out on the project when it went up for tender.

Manager of Utilities William Wedel explained the installation process.

“So we pay for an installation that goes to an energy transfer station which sits inside of the building, so that’s kind of like the heating system. And from that point further on into the system, that is the responsibility of the property owner.”

He added that the connection comes from the street, and goes into the building, where a unit is put in place, and has a circulation pump attached.

Councillor Brian Skakun asked if this was an attractive price range for potential customers.

“At this point the property owner is still very interested in being connected to it. It’s one of those things like buying an electric car. You don’t necessarily buy it just because it’s the best car, it is because you are doing something for the environment, and also it does provide a good service in the end,” said Wedel.

The City will see the $500,000 come back through delivery charges, but that won’t be for another 12 years.

Wedel noted that the system, once installed, could be a good deal if businesses were planning to expand their building.

“The heat exchanger can be exchanged, and a larger one can be put in place. That unit is relatively inexpensive in comparison to upsizing a boiler system. Boiler systems are 500-600, up to $1 million depending on how complex they are.”

The City also gets greenhouse gas credits for providing more buildings through the Downtown Renewable Energy System.

Skakun noted that he wasn’t happy about the cost increase, but adding more people to the Downtown Renewable Energy System will benefit the City in the long run.

Councillor Garth Frizzell said he was disturbed by the fact that this was the second project where they only received one bid, and Wedel explained that it’s hard to get people to come in for such a small project.