Minden Hills council is intrigued by a project aimed at renewable sources of heating. Torchlight Bioresources Managing Director Jamie Stephen was in Minden last week pitching a heat distribution facility that would be fueled by wood chips from the Haliburton Forest. The concept would see a central boiler facility built with underground piping that would distribute heat to connected buildings.
Mayor Brent Devolin used to work in the forestry industry and says he’s excited about the environmentally friendly source of heating.
Stephen says anyone linked to the system can expect a 20 to 30 per cent reduction in their heating costs. The heat source is only expected to be available for commercial and municipal buildings in the downtown core to start. Devolin adds there are different ways to raise the money for the project, which does not have a price tag at this point.
The project that received a federal grant last month in Haliburton is expected to cost a total of $5.8 million but Stephen says the Minden project would likely be less than that.