Canadian Armed Forces members deserve modern facilities that are fit-for-purpose so that they can train and maintain their readiness. Across Canada, the Government of Canada is investing to upgrade military facilities by building cleaner, more modern infrastructure that will save taxpayers money and better support our military's needs.
Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, and the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, announced a $45.3 million investment in infrastructure upgrades at 3 Canadian Division Support Base (CDSB) Edmonton.
This energy performance contract (EPC) project will upgrade 124 buildings at the Edmonton military base, reducing the Base's energy costs by 21%, or an estimated $2 million annually. Energy retrofits will also lower greenhouse gas emissions by almost 5200 tonnes per year. Upgrades will include LED lighting upgrades, modernized heating and cooling equipment, replacing fossil fuel heating systems with low carbon alternatives, upgraded building envelopes, high efficiency water fixtures, renewable energy installations, and more.
The contract for this work was awarded to Ameresco Inc. of Richmond, ON, and this project is expected to sustain over 125 jobs during construction. Our facilities remain fully functional during the project, with no impact on military operations.
We expect to see the first emissions reductions and energy savings by the end of 2024, with the full reduction in energy costs by 2026. Design and construction have begun, and we anticipate all retrofits and upgrades will be complete in 2026.
Projects like this will help us meet our target of reducing our GHG emissions by 40 percent by 2025, five years ahead of schedule, and will contribute to the federal government's target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
