July 19, 2012, Cranbrook B.C. – The St. Mary’s Indian Band’s biomass project will benefit from the fourth round of funding from the First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund with equity funding of $200,000.
“Biomass thermal heating systems are particularly advantageous to people in our region. Here we are able to make use of poor quality wood that is unfit for lumber and keep people warm at the same time,” said Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett.
The project will consist of the construction and operation of a biomass thermal heating system, which will initially hook up two buildings with future plans to hook up the entire village.
The St. Mary’s Indian Band has over 5,000 hectares of dense conifer forest and proposes to supply the heating system with waste-wood chips. It will also provide the band with an opportunity to receive revenue through wood-chip delivery.
“Today is a really great day for the St. Mary’s Band. Now we can move forward with some of the more detailed work and get the system in place. We’re really grateful the Province is supporting this initiative, helping us leave a smaller footprint on our land,” said St. Mary’s Indian Band Chief Cheryl Casimer.
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