"Growing a Green Economy" is one of three main themes coming out of last week’s federal budget.
And today (April 5), Canada's minister of rural economic development, swung by Coquitlam to highlight the government's pledge to fight climate change and build on industries leading the way.
Gudie Hutchings stopped by Moment Energy, a business off United Boulevard that started in 2020 and now has 30 employees working on repurposing retired batteries from electric vehicles (EV).
Its energy storage containers are now being used at God's Pocket scuba diving resort near Port Hardy.
Moment Energy's Miguel Resendiz told the Tri-City News its systems are cutting the resort's diesel generator runtime by 75 per cent and serve as the primary energy source for the microgrid.
In the off-season, they can power 10 buildings for four days, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Resendiz said old EV batteries have a lot of life in them even after the automotive industry discontinues them.
Hutchings toured the facility with Coquitlam–Port Coquitlam MP Ron McKinnon (Liberal) and others before highlighting Budget 2023's 15 per cent tax credit available for "green" businesses.
The new refundable tax credit will be eligible for investments in non-emitting electricity generation systems, abated natural gas electricity-fired electricity generation, stationary electricity storage systems and equipment for the transmission of electricity between provinces and territories.
Taxable and non-taxable entities like Crown corporations and publicly owned utilities, corporations owned by Indigenous communities and pension funds are also eligible for the Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit.
McKinnon said Moment Energy is "paving the way" across B.C. and Canada for innovation and tech jobs.
And despite the global impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the country "has the strongest economic growth in the G7" thanks to environmental leaders, Hutchings added.
"We all know that climate change is real," she said, taking a swipe at the Conservative and federal opposition leader Pierre Poilievre.
Besides clean energy, the "Growing a Green Economy" motif in Budget 2023 is set to make investments in the following:
- electrification
- clean manufacturing
- emissions reduction
- critical minerals
- infrastructure
- electric vehicle and batteries
