Ottawa spending $55M on N.B. military base upgrades

The Canadian Armed Forces Base Gagetown in Oromocto, N.B., in seen in an undated file photo.

The Gagetown military base in New Brunswick is upgrading 255 buildings due to $55.6 million from the federal government.

According to a news release from the federal government, the upgrades will include heat and energy recovery systems, high-efficiency boilers, LED lighting improvements, high-efficiency water fixtures, geothermal technology, building envelopes, and a new high-efficiency gas power generator.

“The modernizations to the Gagetown base will benefit our military members and make the base more sustainable in the long term,” said Ginette Petitpas Taylor, minister of veterans affairs, in the release. “By supporting green projects like these, we’re investing in Atlantic Canada’s economic prosperity while developing local employees’ expertise in these new green technologies.”

The project, which is scheduled to be done by 2026, is expected to create more than 200 jobs in the Oromocto area, reduce the base’s energy consumption by 24 per cent, and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions by more than 8,700 tonnes per year.

Petitpas Taylor also announced $19.7 million to build a solar farm at Gagetown, which is expected to be ready by 2025 and provide more than two-thirds of the energy used during peak hours at the base. It will occupy 40 acres of land and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3,200 tonnes per year.

The release notes the total investment in the solar farm will be roughly $27.5 million, which will cover the construction and 25 years of operation.

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