District Energy and the Role of the Private Sector
Channel: Carbon Talks
Date: 2014-12-19

By 2020, the City of Vancouver aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 33% from 2007 and will require that all new buildings be carbon neutral. However, with the majority (54%) of the city’s carbon emissions coming from buildings, largely originating in heating and cooling systems, the challenge of reducing GHGs is daunting considering the age and inefficiency of current buildings and the projected growth in population.

Enter district energy: An old technology that’s enjoying a renewed interest from cities worldwide.

District energy works by amalgamating the heating, and sometimes cooling, needs of a network of buildings. Heat can be produced more readily from alternative fuels, including waste heat from cooling systems, sewers or industrial processes. District energy can also be a means for producing more efficient local electricity through combined heat and power, can support micro-grids, and can reduce demands on the electrical system that would otherwise be needed for heating and cooling.

The beauty of a community energy system is that it shares infrastructure, leverages economies of scale, and has the potential of producing low-carbon heating for neighbourhoods.

Panel:
Trent Berry, MRM
Principal, Reshape Strategies
Chair, Creative Energy Canada Platforms Corp.  

Hart Starr Crawford
Project Manager, Fēnix Energy

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