Mayoral candidate Loney promises geothermal heat for 40,000 homes

Shaun Loney is promising to reduce Winnipeg's carbon footprint by extending geothermal heating to homes.

Loney promised Monday to connect 40,000 homes with geothermal heating loops by 2030, focusing mostly on new developments and homes that require new heating infrastructure.

Loney, the founder of a non-profit geothermal company called Aki Energy, said if he is elected mayor on Oct. 26, he will rename Winnipeg's water and waste department the "water, waste and heating" department, and it would install geothermal heating loops up front on behalf of homeowners.

"There would no upfront cost to the homeowner to hook up to the loop, none whatsoever," Loney said in the backyard of an Elm Park home equipped with geothermal heating.

Homeowners would pay back the cost with a monthly fee that would be lower than the cost of natural gas or electric heating, he said.

Those fees would also cover the city's borrowing costs — both principal and interest — for installing the geothermal loops. He could not quantify those costs but said the water-and-waste utility debt would be secured by the payback fees.

Brent Laufer, a geothermal-heating specialist who took part in Loney's announcement, said Winnipeggers will save even more money over time, as carbon taxes and fossil fuel costs increase.

"Look at your gas bill and you'll see that carbon tax. It's getting substantial and we're not even anywhere close to where are [going to be]," he said. "There's no better timing than now to look at the economics."

Motkaluk promises more trees

Mayoral candidate Jenny Motkaluk promised Monday to double the number of trees Winnipeg plants every year, from 5,500 to 11,000. 

That would cost an additional $3.2 million a year, according to city budget documents.

Motkaluk also promised to nearly quadruple the frequency of tree pruning, from once every 27 years to once every seven years. It would cost the city an additional $18.6 million a year, according to city budget documents.

Shone also makes green pledge

Mayoral candidate Rick Shone promised to allow homeowners to switch from grass to natural lawns.

He also promised to create incentives to convert surface parking into green spaces and for property owners to use vegetation to retain stormwater.

Shone did not cost out those pledges.

Bokhari revives Portage and Main pledge

Mayoral candidate Rana Bokhari promised to reopen Portage and Main to pedestrians.

Outgoing mayor Brian Bowman made this promise in 2014 but shied away after Winnipeggers voted down the idea four years later in a non-binding plebiscite.

Bokhari said in a statement that barriers around Portage and Main have to come down as part of structural repairs and that she would leave them down.

Bokhari, Shone, Motkalyuk and Loney are among 11 candidates running for mayor. Idris Adelakun, Rana Bokhari, Chris Clacio, Scott Gillingham, Kevin Klein, Jenny Motkaluk, Glen Murray, Robert-Falcon Ouellette and Don Woodstock are also running.

Advance voting starts on Oct. 3 and election day is Oct. 26.