Grey County hopes to install 20 electric vehicle chargers as part of its ‘Going Green In Grey’ plan.
A staff snapshot presentation to County Council July 25th also highlighted some other ways it’s ‘going green,’ including installing FoodCycler countertop composters in three County buildings and launching a County Green Team to advance initiatives across departments.
County Manager of Climate Change Initiatives Rebecca Danard says “I’m applying right now for funding to get chargers for some of the transport depots so we an start to electrify our fleet.” The County is also waiting to hear about funding for public chargers.
She adds, “We’re doing some work with energy audits and strategic energy management to address energy usage in our current County buildings.”
The County is also emphasizing ‘net zero readiness’ at some of its new builds like the new paramedic base in Durham and the new Rockwood Terrace long-term care home and a new housing development in Dundalk.
Danard says, “So we’re starting to get that to be a well-oiled machine in terms of getting some of those energy conservation principles into new housing builds.”
The County’s efforts also extend to the agriculture sector through an Experimental Acres program which it says is working to support local farmers in piloting new, regenerative practices. The snapshot presentation says, “Since 2023, Experimental
Acres has supported 12 farms, directly impacting practices on roughly 175 acres of farmland.”
They’re also working to complete a regional waste management assessment with the staff from Grey County’s municipalities to see if they can collaborate to keep more waste out of landfills.
County staff are also working on a ‘Community Energy Efficiency Financing initiative’ which aims to help finance retrofits for homeowners in existing homes. “So we have a feasibility and design project for that now, and next steps would be to move forward with a capital project,” says Danard, but she notes, they’re not at that stage yet.
The snapshot also highlighted what municipalities are doing at the lower-tier level. For example, West Grey’s lighting upgrades at the Ayton and Neustadt arenas, adding four EV chargers at the municipal office, at Riverside Park, in downtown Neustadt,
and at the Ayton arena and creating a mobile household hazardous waste program. Meanwhile, Hanover is working on a new ‘net zero’ fire station.
Some of of the municipalities are also adjusting their storm water management plans to account for heavier rainfall.
You can see the snapshot report on the County’s website, which highlights other efforts in Grey County and its lower tier municipalities.
The County has also launched a monthly climate action newsletter.