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CGC Welcomes New Members on its Board of Directors
September, 2011
Canada’s national association for geothermal heat pumps well prepared to face new challenges
The CGC has recently completed election and nomination on its board of directors for 2011-2012. The CGC board of directors comprises 15 members with representatives from all regions of Canada and from all classes of stakeholders involved in the geothermal heat pump industry.
Stacey Bernier (Corix Utilities) has seen its mandate as CGC chair re-conducted for another year. Marc Bélanger (Vice-Chair) and Patrick Lambert (Secretary) both remain members of the executive. They are now joined by Nancy Dalgard who was unanimously confirmed as Treasurer of the corporation. CGC President and CEO, Denis Tanguay, is also a member of the executive committee.
“Without a doubt, the Canadian geothermal heat pump industry appears to be taking a pause after years of exponential growth,” said Denis Tanguay. The industry is challenged by higher electricity rates in some provinces and very low natural gas prices in others. The construction industry still has not fully recovered from the last recession and the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program will terminate on March 31, 2012. “The Canadian geothermal heat pump industry is facing challenges both the new home and the retrofit sectors but the commercial sector is still relative stable. The current year will be full of challenges and opportunities for the CGC, and I believe we have the right board of directors to discuss industry issues,” added Denis Tanguay.
To address upcoming industry challenges, the CGC initiated earlier this year a technology road map exercise of
the Canadian geothermal heat pump industry. The roadmap allows stakeholders to assess the state of the
industry, to measure industry progress, and to evaluate capacity while identifying new areas for industry
development. The exercise will also help CGC develop and implement future market transformation processes.
In a few months, over 100 individuals have been engaged in this process. The road map should be published
later this year.
The Canadian GeoExchange™ Coalition acts as the industry catalyst to unite private and public sector
stakeholders, and to expand the market for ground source heat pumps and geoexchange™ technology in
Canada. As the nexus of information, training, certification, standards and public awareness, our mandate is to
work with stakeholders to build the necessary infrastructure to foster the growth of the Canadian geoexchange™ industry. For more information, visit www.geoexchange.ca
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