The Honourable Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, along with the Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Environment and Climate Change; the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Labour and Member of Parliament for St. John’s South – Mount Pearl, on behalf of the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada and Dr. Vianne Timmons, President of Memorial University, today announced cost-shared funding of just over $10.5 million for an electrification project for Memorial University. The project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 30,000 tonnes annually.
The funding will be used to remove one fuel oil fired hot water boiler and replace it with two electrically powered boilers. These along with the three remaining oil boilers will support the entire St. John’s campus, the Health Sciences Complex, the new Core Science building and the future Adult Mental Health Facility.
The $10.5 million project is jointly funded by the federal and provincial governments though Newfoundland and Labrador’s Climate Change Challenge Fund. This fund is a competitive grant-based program under the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund to support greenhouse gas reduction projects. The fund is available to organizations across commercial, municipal, not-for-profit sectors and Indigenous governments and organizations. Since 2018, the federal and provincial governments have allocated $89.4 million to the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund.
The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is committed to taking actions to address climate change, from actioning a climate change plan, developing a renewable energy action plan, progressing towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, establishing a Net-Zero Advisory Committee and advancing electrification and innovation to further the transition to more renewable energy sources.
A video of the project area can be viewed here. Video footage and photos provided by Memorial University and shot by Richard Blenkinsopp.
Quotes
“I am pleased to join the Federal Government today to make this important announcement for Memorial University. This electrification project will have a significant impact on the reduction of greenhouse gas emission in our province. Climate change is impacting our province, our country and the entire globe and we all need to play a part in addressing the impacts of this worldwide reality. Projects such as the one at Memorial will help us along the path to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”
Honourable Andrew Furey
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
“Supporting projects with major institutions, such as fuel switching on the St. John’s Memorial campus, is part of our commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, stimulate clean innovation and growth and build resilience to climate change impacts. Every action taken contributes to the development of a green economy, moving the province forward both environmentally and economically.”
Honourable Bernard Davis
Minister of Environment and Climate Change
“Replacing boilers on Memorial University’s St. John’s Campus is a simple step towards reducing our local greenhouse gas emissions, by 28,000 tonnes. By partnering with Memorial and the province, we’re lowering emissions and building Canada’s renewable energy future.”
Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr.
Minister of Labour and Member of Parliament for St. John’s South – Mount Pearl
“We all have a part to play when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and I applaud Memorial for their willingness to partner with government on these important upgrades. Given the size of Memorial’s St. John’s campus and the nearby health care facilities that will be served by this switch, this project will have a sizeable and measurable impact on emissions in this part of the province.”
Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Education
“As a university, we often speak to Memorial’s value and impact from an educational perspective. Today we speak to our impact to reduce our carbon footprint, and recognize this giant step forward. We have a global responsibility to mitigate our environmental impact and reduce our carbon footprint. Memorial is committed to using our resources in a sustainable and responsible way and environmental stewardship is a huge part. I thank our federal and provincial government partners and look forward to seeing this project’s completion.”
Dr. Vianne Timmons
President, Memorial University
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Learn more
Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund
Canada’s Strengthened Climate Plan: A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy
Media contacts
Meghan McCabe
Office of the Premier
709-729-3960
meghanmccabe@gov.nl.caLynn Robinson
Environment and Climate Change
709-729-5449, 691-9446
lynnrobinson@gov.nl.ca
Constituency Office
Minister Seamus O’Regan Jr.
Minister of Labour
Member of Parliament for St. John’s South – Mount Pearl
709-772-4776
Tina Coffey
Education
709-729-1906, 687-9903
tinacoffey@gov.nl.ca
Dave Sorensen
Communications, Memorial University
709 -864-2143, 685-7134
sorensen@mun.ca