Government of Canada Funds Energie Milot

SAINT-LUDGER-DE-MILOT, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - July 26, 2012) - The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, announces that the organization Énergie Milot has been granted financial assistance to establish and experiment with a central heating supply system in Saint-Ludger-de-Milot, in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.

"By lending its support to innovative organizations like Énergie Milot, the Government of Canada is demonstrating its commitment to creating economic wealth," said Minister Lebel.

Énergie Milot's project will validate the energy efficiency and profitability of a 250 kW central heating system powered by forest biomass. The system will distribute the heat produced by the biomass boiler to three nearby enterprises via a network of buried pipes. A conditioning centre will be developed to supply the boiler with fuel. If the system achieves the desired level of performance, Énergie Milot will be able to serve more businesses and offer its expertise to other municipalities in the region.

The potential benefits of Énergie Milot's project include reduced environmental impact compared to the current system gas heating system and energy cost savings for user enterprises. Moreover, the use of forest biomass could prove an interesting economic diversification option.

About the Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies (TISQFE)

This $70,000 in non-repayable funding has been awarded through Canada Economic Development's Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies (TISQFE).

The TISQFE was brought into force in June 2010 to help communities affected by the forestry crisis diversify their economies in order to ensure their growth and create and maintain employment. The initiative's goal is also to support secondary and tertiary wood processing projects in these communities.

This measure is one of several put in place by the Government of Canada to counteract the effects of the forest crisis. Others include the Community Adjustment Fund, with its $1-billion budget over two years to mitigate the impact of the crisis, the $1 billion granted to the Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program to help enterprises carry out environmentally-friendly projects and the $238 million invested, in collaboration with the Government of Quebec, for silvicultural work and the maintenance of multi-use forest roads. Workers have also received their fair share of support, with the Government of Canada introducing some of the most generous measures in history to help them through the economic crisis.

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