Invest Medicine Hat looks to future with prospective revenue generator and hydrogen economy

Other councillors were not shy to show their support for Invest Medicine Hat including Coun. Darren Hirsch.

“I would just challenge people to start looking at the horsepower within Invest and you will get blown away with the talent that is in this room,” he said.

The praise comes a month after it was learned three city staffers formed a private company to bid on the Invest Medicine Hat privatization contract. The move ultimately triggered an independent review. At the council meeting on Aug. 3, Mayor Ted Clugston said the issue has been forwarded to the Audit Committee, which will vote on who will do the review.

When asked about the timing of the mid-year report, Clugston said it was planned well in advance and had nothing to do with the public scrutiny. Clugston also showed his support for the Invest Medicine Hat team and said he has absolute confidence in their ability.

“What you saw here was astronomical, was groundbreaking, was probably one of the most unique reports in the country of Canada, and frankly being imitated by other jurisdictions who see the value of what we are doing here without perhaps an election going on and people looking for an angle to differentiate themselves and make other people look bad,” he said.

One of the highlights of the mid-year report was the possible development of a new revenue stream for the city, by using the city’s compressed natural gas facility.

“We have been approached by a party looking to utilize the city’s fleet for effectively a hub and spoke type strategy where the city’s CNG station would represent the hub and this private company would build out the spokes,” stated Erik Van Enk, Invest Medicine Hat’s acting managing director.

According to city officials, the city-owned compressed natural gas facility is underutilized and is only used to power city buses and sanitary trucks. But the facility has the capacity to be used for much more.

Clugston said the interest spurred from the private company, does not mean the city is selling their compressed natural gas facility, rather the city would be the recipient of carbon credits.

“A lot of the revenue comes from the carbon credits, and then we can take those carbon credits they are almost like cash and apply them to offset our usage at the power plant or maybe sell them to other people who are carbon-intensive, so that is a revenue source,” Clugston said.

The name of the company expressing interest in the city’s compressed natural gas facility was not disclosed during the meeting. But it was noted the same company is building a compressed natural gas facility in Redcliff and Swift Current.

Invest Medicine Hat also touched on their efforts to establish a hydrogen task force aimed at making Medicine Hat the second hydrogen hub in Canada. Staff at Invest Medicine Hat noted that switching to hydrogen would allow the city to reduce their carbon footprint. It would also help large existing businesses save on carbon taxes which would help those businesses stay in the region.

“We are in direct competition with any jurisdiction looking to attract investment, and in an environment of escalating carbon taxes we have to be cognizant of that and we have to look I think at what the impact would be to the city of Medicine Hat,” acting managing director Erik Van Enk said.

Members of council were eager to discuss their excitement for the prospect of a hydrogen hub in the area the opportunities that could arise.

“It is a game-changer, absolutely incredible. I would go so far as to say mark this moment on our city’s historical timeline. This will be significant, Coun. Robert Dumanowski said.

A report on the viability of the region as a hydrogen hub will come out early next year, according to the city.

The impact of the vacant 1.7 million-square-foot Aurora Sun complex was also discussed.

In March, Aurora Sun confirmed the facility would be going up for sale. According to Invest Medicine Hat, $6 million was provided by the city as an incentive for Aurora Sun to build the facility.

Invest Medicine Hat reiterated that while the facility is vacant it still generates around $1.4 million in property tax revenue every year. If the facility was operational, tax revenue would reach $3.3 million, according to Invest Medicine Hat.

The land is listed for sale under Toronto-based real estate firm Colliers International, and the city including Clugston are confident that another buyer will come soon, noting there have been many businesses expressing their interest.

At one point, Aurora Sun was projected to bring some 650 jobs to Medicine Hat.

by Tiffany Goodwein

Invest Medicine Hat looks to future with prospective revenue generator and hydrogen economy

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