No natural gas for the Charlottetown airport
Plans to bring natural gas to the Charlottetown airport have been put on the back burner after rising costs made the project too expensive.
Doug Newson, the Charlottetown Airport Authority’s CEO, said there were changes in the price of natural gas and the cost of equipment since it was proposed last year.
“At this point in time it didn’t make it feasible,” he said.
During last year’s annual general meeting, Newson announced a plan was in the study phase that would have seen the airport and some neighbouring businesses switch to natural gas for heat.
The gas would have been shipped by truck to P.E.I. and lead to cost savings of about 30 per cent over oil with a goal of making the business park more attractive.
Newson said the airport authority hasn’t given up on the plan and if new tenants that could benefit from the project move into the business park then it will be revisited.
Meanwhile, $625,000 in budgeted capital spending for the natural gas project has been deferred.
Newson said if the airport authority decided to go ahead with the project it would go to the board of directors for funding approval.
“Basically it’s just held in our capital reserve,” he said.
