Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
CGA, the Canadian Gas Association, is the voice of Canada's natural gas delivery industry. Our companies meet the needs of more than 6.7 million customers, representing well over half the Canadian population and using over 450,000 kilometres of underground delivery infrastructure and storage facilities.
Over the past decade, we've invested over $17 billion in this system to ensure that Canadians have the affordable, clean, safe, and reliable energy all of us have come to expect. My focus today is on what we call the natural gas opportunity, and about how we build on that foundation to help our country to stimulate technology innovation; to deliver affordable energy to more of our fellow citizens; to build stronger northern and remote industry in communities, including indigenous communities; and to support clean transportation fuelling for the heavy-duty, return-to-base, off-road, and marine transportation sectors.
Three attributes of our industry explain how we can help.
First, our product is affordable. High energy costs mean that families have less money for essential needs and that businesses have difficulty operating, much less expanding. Affordable energy has long been a competitive advantage for Canada, and natural gas can help us maintain and build on that advantage.
Second, natural gas is an efficient and clean-burning energy choice. It has fewer emissions than many other fuels, and it is an important partner for renewables in emerging low-emission technologies.
Third, natural gas delivery companies are innovators. Our utilities have a long history of supporting energy efficiency programs and driving innovation in energy and use. With these national priorities and attributes in mind, let me quickly summarize the five components of the natural gas opportunity and how the federal government can support it.
The first component of the natural gas opportunity is in connecting communities. Communities with no access to natural gas are dependent on more expensive, less reliable, and, in many cases, higher-emission energy options. According to ICF International, connecting rural communities would result in significant cost savings, emission reductions, and revenue for governments. Our recommendation to the federal government is to allocate $250 million in clean energy infrastructure funding to support the construction of new natural gas delivery infrastructure for homes and businesses not currently serviced by the pipeline system.
The second component is LNG for remote communities in the north. These communities not on the energy delivery system are looking for ways to replace their aging diesel power generation systems and reduce their costs. LNG offers a cleaner, more affordable, and more reliable energy option, and there are excellent precedents in place for its use in the Northwest Territories, Quebec, and elsewhere. According to ICF International, by 2025, at least 16 power generation and 47 industrial customers in Canada's north could convert to LNG, resulting again in costs savings, emission reductions, and government revenue.
The third is to use natural gas as an alternative transportation fuel. Market adoption of natural gas vehicles in Canada has been growing at only a modest pace because of the higher capital cost, the lack of widespread LNG and CNG supply and refuelling infrastructure, and the uncertainty regarding taxation. In the last federal budget, funding was allocated to support the construction of alternative refuelling stations, and our understanding is that project proposals around natural gas are currently being considered. This is an excellent first step. Our submission this year recommends allocating funding over five years to help cover a portion of the incremental cost of natural gas engines to encourage deployment. As well, we recommend allocating further funding in clean energy infrastructure funds to support the development of new infrastructure.
The fourth is renewable natural gas. This CO2-neutral energy source produced from organic waste is captured, cleaned, and delivered for use in the same way as any other natural gas supply. RNG is a locally available product that can assist communities and governments in meeting their GHG emission reduction and energy sustainability targets.
It should be noted that RNG can be produced, cleaned, and injected into the natural gas distribution system at a cost often more affordable than other renewable options. Canada's natural gas utilities just set a voluntary target of 10% RNG in the system by 2030, equal to the energy needs of 3.1 million homes.
Our recommendation is for targeted assistance to advance the development of RNG technology by focusing on biomass gasification and for an amendment to Canada's renewable fuels regulation to include RNG as a compliance option, as is allowed in the United States.
The fifth is to drive efficiency in innovation. Natural gas utilities have a long history of supporting energy efficiency programs and technology innovation that have resulted in customer savings of $1 billion in natural gas costs and reduced emissions of 50 megatonnes. Last week, my association announced the intention to create the natural gas innovation fund to build on that success. Examples of opportunities we want to pursue include high-efficiency combined heat and power systems, micro combined heat and power systems for residential and commercial use, power-to-gas systems to store renewable electricity, new natural gas vehicle engine technologies, and renewable natural gas technologies.
In a submission to the government's clean technology for Canada's natural resource consultation, CGA recommended that the Government of Canada allocate funding to partner with utilities and others on natural gas innovation.
In conclusion, our industry looks forward to working with all interested parties and stakeholders on the opportunities noted above, which we think serve a number of national priorities.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present at committee here today. I'll stop now and look forward to questions afterwards from committee members.