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The first Winnipeg neighbourhood to be entirely serviced by geothermal energy will be Southwood Circle, a development underway by the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus.
Premier Wab Kinew made the announcement Wednesday morning on CBC Manitoba’s Information Radio.
“We’re going to have our first district geothermal system. It’s a heat-pump technology, but instead of heating a home in a carbon-free way on a one-home basis, it’s a whole neighbourhood,” he said.
The Southwood geothermal district was part of a wider announcement made later Wednesday by Kinew and Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes, who unveiled a 27-page plan to reach net-zero emissions in Manitoba by 2050.
The action plan outlines the steps over the next three years for Manitoba’s net-zero strategy, which was announced last October.
In addition to the geothermal district, the action plan calls for an extension of the province’s electric vehicle rebate program and an expansion of charging stations throughout the province, as well as $400,000 for planning and early implementation of the southeast regional transit initiative to improve public transit and transportation connections across southeastern Manitoba.
The plan also includes:
More than $55 million in grants to help businesses and industry, First Nations, farmers, non-profits and local communities to reduce emissions and support long-term decarbonization.Establishing interim greenhouse gas emission targets by fall 2026.Developing options for a carbon offset and credit protocol that would align with Manitoba’s specific economic and environmental interests.More than $7.6 million in continuing support for sustainable agriculture.
“This action plan is going to move the needle for the environment, for Manitobans and for our great province,” Moyes said at an afternoon news conference near the Southwood Circle project, calling it “a practical plan with over 90 actions.”
In all, the plan calls for more than $350 million in government spending to cut emissions.
The first phase of Southwood Circle is estimated to take 10 years to complete and will include medium- to high-rise condominiums, apartments, townhouses and up to 300,000 square feet of office and commercial space, including retail, hospitality and business areas. (Gavin Axelrod/CBC)
The geothermal system in Southwood Circle will be Manitoba’s first large-scale geothermal district and will avoid between 400 and 1,600 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, Moyes said.
“This project is helping Manitoba position itself as a clean energy leader and is going to lower the impact on the electricity grid.”
The development on the original Southwood Golf and Country Club site (the new course is now located in St. Norbert) is expected to include medium- to high-rise condominiums, apartments, townhouses and up to 300,000 square feet of office and commercial space, including retail, hospitality and business areas.
The land was purchased by the university in 2008. Site preparation work for the development began in 2023.
The provincial government is spending $4 million to provide the geothermal heating and cooling to the developers of Southwood Circle, which is estimated to take about 20 to 30 years to complete and cost $6 billion.
The first phase alone is estimated to take 10 years.
“We’re eliminating the barrier to this neighborhood having this climate-friendly technology. So us as a province, we’re going to put the $4 million in and make sure that this district geothermal gets installed and then boom, more than 1,000 homes will will have this great climate heating technology,” Kinew said.
“It’s a notable milestone, but hopefully this is just the one step that proves the concept and then we can see a whole bunch more district geothermal neighborhoods popping up throughout the province.”