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Bruce County will be holding a virtual training session for local business owners looking to switch to more environmentally-friendly fuel sources.
The Energy Transition Initiative is aimed at businesses of all sizes throughout the county.
The session will be held on Thursday, October 30th.
In an interview with Bayshore News, Energy Transition Specialist Helen Kodsi explained that was created and developed to help businesses transition from higher-carbon emission sources such as oil, to low-carbon sources like natural gas or electricity.
“The initiative really is to support all businesses of all sizes in all industries. So the energy transition project for small business compared to a large business can definitely be different, based on their energy demands, and needs, and uses, but for a small business,” said Kodsi. “For a small business, it would be quite easy to navigate because we’re here to help, so we’re really going to be your one-stop shop. You can come to us, we can help you baseline and understand all your current sources of emissions, your current uses of emissions and energy, and then be able to help you navigate those different programs and opportunities for your business to take those steps down in energy sources.”
She said that while they’re hoping for transitions to lower carbon energy sources such as natural gas and electricity is the organization’s focus, they do support anyone who wants to go further to renewable resources.
The training session on October 30th is an event that’s being held with Green Economy Canada, which supports small- and medium-sized businesses through transitioning to a net-zero future.
The session is followed by a showcase on November 6th, at the Port Elgin Legion.
Kodsi explained, “We’re going to have association groups, and large electricity generators, producers and operators like Hydro One, being able to talk about their services, understand the business that are coming through, what are their projects that they’re looking at doing, and how those business can help support them, and make those projects come to fruition.”
While the virtual training session and the showcase are both directed at local businesses making the changes needed to lower emissions, there have been questions from residents about upgrading their home systems as well.
“We have had a few inquiries from interested residents throughout Bruce County, so there are definitely programs that we can connect you with if this is something of interest. I know that there are programs that are phasing out, but others are growing and expanding and there’s always a focus on residences, or incorporation of residents in the conversation, so we can definitely help you navigate that.”