A project to reduce polluting vehicle and greenhouse gas emissions in Banff National Park will be extended to Jasper National Park, says the company leading the initiative.
ATCO Gas, as part of the eMission Banff project reported in last week’s Business Edge, will spend nearly $250,000 to build a new natural gas fuelling service station in the town of Banff.
eMission also includes converting more than 60 commercial shuttle buses and park tour vehicles to cleaner-burning natural gas from gasoline and diesel. The initiative will significantly reduce smog, as well as emissions blamed for global warming, in the world-famous tourist destination.
ATCO Gas will now approach Edmonton-to-Jasper shuttle and tour operators to launch a similar project, including a new fuelling station for the town of Jasper, said Graeme Feitham, senior engineer with ATCO market development and distribution services.
ATCO has four existing natural gas fuelling stations in Calgary. There are six stations in Edmonton, and the new one in Banff is scheduled to be operating this fall, he said.
As more vehicles are converted to natural gas, “to complete that circle, we need to probably put a station in Jasper,” Feitham said. “So that’ll certainly be the next thing we’re looking at.”
Climate Change Central, which is contributing $85,000 toward the eMission Banff project, says it would consider supporting a similar project for Jasper once a proposal is made. The private sector-public agency, established by the provincial government in 1999, co-ordinates emission-reduction projects that are proposed by individuals, businesses, institutions and governments.
Natural Resources Canada is contributing $12,500 toward Banff’s new natural gas fuelling station, which will be in the small industrial park near town’s entrance, Feitham said.
Banff councillor John Stutz said the town administration, as part of a newly adopted environmental management system, is committed to making its buildings and fleet of about 80 vehicles more energy efficient.
“Those (vehicles) that it makes sense to convert to natural gas, that will happen,” he said.
Banff is also reviewing its public transportation system, which is now contracted out, to ensure the town is providing a cost-efficient service that also protects the environment.
The town has contracted the Banff Airporter firm to operate a new shuttle service between Canmore and Banff, partly because the company operates its vehicles on natural gas.
John Hardy, director of Banff Airporter, said his fleet of several sedans, 10 large vans and two buses accumulates 2.2 million kilometres a year shuttling back and forth from Calgary and Banff. About half the fleet has been switched to natural gas and the rest will be converted by December, he said.
The cost of natural gas fuel during the last few months has averaged roughly half the pump price of gasoline. Even with the expense of converting the fleet to gas, plus the cost of operating the new Banff-Canmore run, Hardy expects to save about $90,000 a year on a yearly vehicle fuel bill of approximately $200,000.
Hardy said his main motivation in switching to natural gas was to save money and give him a competitive advantage in pursuing contracts in Canada’s oldest national park.
But as a small business owner who’s concerned about revenue, he added: “You can lah-de-dah about the environment all you want. The bottom line is, you’re going to save money, too.”
