Topic: Energy Generation

The City of Dawson Creek is committed to implementing emission reduction projects that will minimize their carbon liability prior to purchasing offsets to achieve carbon neutrality.

The establishment of the Carbon Fund has allowed the City to put a price on their corporate carbon that is then made available to implement corporate and community emission reduction projects, with corporate emission reduction projects given first priority. These reductions are intended to help reduce the number of offsets the City purchases each year to achieve carbon neutrality.

Project Summary

The City of Dawson Creek’s Carbon Fund (the Fund) is supporting the City’s Climate Action Charter commitments, including the goal to achieve corporate carbon neutrality by 2012. Approved by Council in June 2011, the Fund is established through the Dawson Creek Carbon Fund Policy, which allows the City to put a price on their corporate carbon emissions and then reinvest those funds back into projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Any corporate emissions that are remaining at the end of each year will be counterbalanced through the purchase of offsets, which are financed separately from the Fund. The City is committed to making every effort to implement feasible emission reduction projects before relying on offset purchases to achieve corporate carbon neutrality.

Energy Savings/GHG reductions

Because the Fund has been established to invest in a range of emission reduction projects, it is difficult to predict the specific amount by which corporate emissions will be reduced within the City. The Fund policy does, however, establish a number of criteria for the selection of projects including the requirement that emission reductions from projects are real, measurable and permanent. The identification of potential projects is underway, and first priority will be given to those that reduce the City’s corporate greenhouse gas emissions.

The City of Dawson Creek’s Carbon Fund allows the City to put a price on their corporate carbon emissions and then reinvest those funds back into projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Business case

The City initially established a charge of $100 per tonne of corporate GHGs produced annually. The investment is scheduled to increase by whichever is the greater of either $5 per year, or in accordance with increases in the BC Carbon Tax. The Fund is partially financed partly by grants received through the Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program (CARIP) with the balance being made up through contributions from the City’s general funds. The Fund currently holds an estimated $360,000.

Co-Benefits

• Supports investments in corporate and community projects
• Helps to drive the local green economy
• Assists in insulating the City from rising energy prices

Lessons learned

Three key lessons can be drawn from the establishment of the Carbon Fund:

Political support is critical

Political support is critical to ensuring that any public perception that the Fund may result in ‘paying extra’ to achieve carbon neutrality is managed, and that the Fund is seen as demonstrating the City’s commitment to climate action.

Clear and consistent communication can build support

Clear and consistent communication with Council on the opportunities that can be derived from Fund investments in local government infrastructure can assist in building support and interest.

Develop processes to ensure consistency and transparency

As significant resources accumulate, ensuring that there is a process in place to select projects will ensure consistency and transparency in the use of the Fund.

Local government contact

Kevin Henderson
Director of Infrastructure & Sustainable Development, City of Dawson Creek
T: 250-784-3622
E: khenderson@dawsoncreek.ca

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) is using biogas from landfill to produce electricity.

This project is the first in BC to recover raw biogas from a landfill and upgrade it so it can be injected into natural gas distribution infrastructure. The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) is also the first local government to partner with Pacific Carbon Trust and generate offset credits. By showcasing a viable alternative to producing electricity from landfill gas, this project is a key building block in FortisBC’s move to develop a Renewable Natural Gas offering.

Project Summary

In 2010 the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD), in partnership with FortisBC, initiated a project to cap the completed portion of the Salmon Arm landfill and begin capturing and upgrading the associated emissions to provide natural gas heating for hundreds of homes. The project is designed to capture methane gas released from the landfill before it can enter the atmosphere. The landfill gas is purified by removing all gases except for methane, making the gas almost identical to natural gas, and then piped into FortisBC’s local distribution network. Because this methane comes from organic waste it is called biomethane.

This project has a number of different components including:

• The methane capture component, which was financed and led by the Regional District
• The upgrading of the landfill gas to biomethane financed and led by FortisBC
• Working with the Pacific Carbon Trust to develop carbon credit protocols and develop saleable offsets
• Retention of offsets to allow the RD the potential to become the first local government in BC to achieve carbon neutrality through internal emission reduction projects
• The development of a process that the Regional District defines as the “self managed approach”, which refers to using in house staff and local labour to see the project through instead of contracting it out.

Energy Savings/GHG reductions

This project is expected to remove 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2012 – this is the equivalent of approximately 2,625 cars off the road for one year. It is expected that over 100,000 tonnes of CO2 will be removed from the atmosphere by 2016.

This project is the first in BC to recover raw biogas from a landfill and upgrade it so it can be injected into natural gas distribution infrastructure.

Business case

It is anticipated that over 10,000 carbon credits will be generated annually and used to offset the local government carbon footprint with remaining credits sold to the Pacific Carbon Trust. In addition, a partnership with Fortis Gas will result in an additional $50,000/year. The sale of carbon credits and methane gas to Fortis will enable the CSRD to see a return on its investment within 15 years.

Project Funding:

• Methane capture portion $1.5 million financed by CSRD (partially through landfill user fees and internal reserve fund).
• Methane conversion $1.5 million (Financed by FortisBC including $200,000 from the BC Bioenergy Network and $366,000 from the Provincial Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) fund).
• Total costs of all components combined: $4 million.

Co-Benefits

• The creation of an alternative revenue stream through the sale of emissions reductions to the Pacific Carbon Trust
• The distribution of gas to local residences and business through partnership with FortisBC
• Support for the Province’s commitment to reducing provincial greenhouse gas emissions by at least 33 per cent below 2009 levels by 2020. Methane has 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide
• The treatment of roughly 1.1 million litres of leachate in the project’s first year through the use of a phytoremediation system (a bioremediation process that uses various types of plants to remove, transfer, stabilize, and/or destroy contaminants in the soil and groundwater)

Lessons learned

Hiring a competent project manager is important

Given that the project was the first of its kind in the province and had a number of different components, it was very important to have someone who could help to bring all the pieces together.

“Self managed” approach helpful

In addition to the contracted manager, the CSRD relied on Regional District staff and about 20 local contractors. This reduced cost, helped build internal capacity and contributed to the local economy.

Unforeseen delays changed timeline

Region-specific weather caused delays.

Details around developing carbon credit protocols took time

However, other local government will now be able to benefit from the hard work done developing carbon credit protocols.

Needed to ensure that the system for methane collection and utilization is designed for local area climate

The infrastructure at the Salmon Arm landfill continues to experience operational challenges in winter months, significantly more than spring, summer and fall.

Local government contact

Darcy Mooney 
Deputy Manager Environment & Engineering Services
T: (250) 833-5938
E: dmooney@csrd.bc.ca

The Village of Telkwa turns the need for a new municipal office into an innovative community partnership on a biomass district energy system at Hankin Corner.

Project Summary

The Village of Telkwa took climate action in the building sector by retrofitting an existing derelict building for a new municipal office and installing a biomass boiler district heating system (the system).The system generates heat energy, through burning wood, which is then transferred into a distributed hot water heating system to heat their municipal office and neighbouring buildings.

The project was part of the implementation of the Village Official Community Plan (OCP) and Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP). The Village plans prioritize repurposing old or abandoned buildings before building new ones. The plans also call for climate change mitigation measures. Based on these plans the Village acquired an abandoned building in 2011 when the old Village Office became unfit for occupation.

The abandoned building was close to an elementary school, a restaurant, a vacant bakery and five single residential homes – all buildings that could benefit from a biomass district heating system. They became partners. With the partnership between the school, residences and commercial sector the district heating system became a feasible option as a clean alternative energy solution to heat a portion of the downtown core.

Construction began in early fall of 2013. The biomass to fuel the boiler was sourced from wood chips produced locally from reject wood slabs supplied by a local sawmill and from standing deadwood.The 300 kilowatt (KW) biomass boiler was officially running by November 2013. The municipality started distributing heat to the school immediately. Businesses and residences were brought on incrementally. The building was big enough to include approximately 5000 square feet of rental space. New businesses are being added to the partnership and connected to the system as spaces are leased.

The municipal system is now the primary supplier of heat for the partners. The heated water generated in the new system supplies the partner buildings through their retrofitted existing electric and natural gas infrastructure.

Original systems are available for backup. For example, the gas boilers in the Telkwa Elementary School act as a backup system to the Village biomass system. While the biomass system is the primary energy source – backup is needed if the temperatures approach -30C or cannot otherwise keep up with the cold weather demands required by the entire district heating system.

Not only does the Village now run an innovative district energy system and have municipal offices that use less energy, they have improved the overall community design with a great looking building.

The project was managed internally by the Village’s Engineering Department. Telkwa’s past Director of Engineering was the lead project manager. Telkwa’s Engineer Technologist Scott Beck assisted with project management and oversaw the renovation to the building. “It’s been a positive influence on the community” says Beck, “the newly completed property has spearheaded community involvement – we are seeing other businesses improving their properties as well.”

Energy Savings/GHG reductions

The district heating system can replace 90% or more of required heating energy and save the consumer up to 35% in heating costs.

Heat energy generated by biomass boilers is different and cleaner than heat energy generated from conventional wood burning stoves. The biomass boiler system is designed to control and reduce emissions. As a result, carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction is estimated to be over 110 tonnes a year while having capacity to generate 300 Kilowatts (kW) energy per hour.

“It’s been a positive influence on the community and spearheaded community involvement.” – Scott Beck

Business case

The Village office is closely tracking the cost versus pay back of the system. The system is relatively new (at the time of publishing this case study), therefore calculations on return on investment are just starting to emerge.Projections estimate a mildly positive return on investment in coming years with a current expectation to be revenue neutral, with heat savings going to property and building owners.

The feasibility study prior to the project cost $25,000. The total actual project cost was $704,320.00, the installation of the district heating system portion of the project cost was estimated at $396,980. A complete exterior retrofit was estimated at $247,250. The remaining $60,090 was spent on building retrofit improvements and boiler fuel storage.

Financial support for the feasibility study ($25,000) came from the Omenica Beetle Action Committee and expertise from the Wood Waste to Rural Heat Initiative. The Federal Gas Tax Innovation Fund provided $644,230.00. The remaining expenses totalling $60,090 came out of the Village budget. Northern Development Initiative Trust later provided an additional grant to build three commercial rental spaces.

The Village and School District will save money on future carbon taxes because of the reduction of natural gas used to heat the municipal office and Telkwa Elementary School.

Staff at the Village of Telkwa estimate that the annual carbon tax savings would be approximately $2,850. This comes from an estimated savings in energy of 1740 GJ converted to greenhouse gas emissions (114 tonnes) and multiplying by the carbon tax ($25 per tonne of GHG emissions).

In addition, the municipality charges for heat supplied to partners. The municipality is not a British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) regulated utility company; it supplies heat to the buildings that are connected to the system through energy service agreements. Building energy meters are used to measure consumption. The data is recorded and then used to invoice property owners; at a reduced rate – about 20-25% less than the current rate for natural gas.

The consumer benefits from an approximate 35% reduction in heating costs due to a combination of factors; delivered efficiencies, existing equipment efficiencies, building envelope efficiencies, and distributed heat through hydronics versus forced air.The system’s wet heat (water) is more efficient than forced air. The system is more efficient than existing electric or natural gas systems which typically have a higher heat conversion loss. Any losses in existing systems are negated by being connected to the new system resulting in cost savings.

The system was built to accommodate future expansion at minimal cost. The Village receives rental income from leased retail space with potential for more rental income as more businesses are brought on board.

Co-Benefits

The biomass system is now a focus for community education and engagement around energy options. The commercial space for local businesses is also now a driver of economic development. The improved aesthetics of the community makes the Village more appealing for tourism, business development and attracting new residents as well as creating a public meeting space for the community.

Lessons learned

Start early with a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach

Telkwa urges other local governments considering constructing a biomass district energy system to research the long-term reliability and cost of the wood chip supply and ensure the chips are compatible with the boiler system installed. There can be challenges to getting the chips and pellets at an economical cost.

The Village is proud of its ability to act as the General Contractor. By doing so, the Village was able to reduce costs and make changes and/or decisions quickly when required. Furthermore, once the boiler was installed the Village was able to quickly hire local contractors to complete the remaining building retrofits and connect the system to the other properties.

Local government contact

Scott Beck
Engineering Technologist, The Village of Telkwa
P: 250.846.5212
E: scottbeck@telkwa.com

The City of Nanaimo implements a unique water energy harvesting system to offset GHG emissions.

By replacing its old, open air water ReservoirNo.1 with a new enclosed reinforced concrete water reservoir that incorporates energy recovery equipment, the City is not only reducing emissions but also expecting potential energy savings between 750,000 – 1,000,000 kWh per year. The new system works in tandem with the City’s new Water Treatment Plant and supplies filtered water to Nanaimo residents.

Project Summary

The City of Nanaimo replaced its century old, open air water Reservoir No. 1 with a 14-million litre enclosed reinforced concrete water reservoir, associated pipelines and an energy recovery facility. The new reservoir has been constructed in tandem with the City’s new South Fork Water Treatment Plant. The reservoir will receive and protect filtered water that will supply 30 per cent of the city.

The reservoir also incorporates energy recovery equipment in the control building. Energy recovered from the reservoir is fed into BC Hydro’s grid. The energy will generate enough electricity for at least 60-70 homes. This is an example of a sustainable means of managing the City’s water supply infrastructure, meeting a key goal in the Water Supply Strategic Plan, and bringing the region a step closer to meeting a community-wide GHG emissions reduction target of reaching 39% of 2007 levels by 2050 under the Community Sustainability Action Plan (CSAP).

The new water supply system takes advantage of the area’s topography and hydraulics. The city’s main source of water supply is from the Jump Creek Reservoir on a tributary of the Nanaimo River. Due to the elevation difference, the distribution of water from the Jump Creek reservoir to the water treatment plant and subsequently to Reservoir No 1 can be done without the use of pumps. Reservoir No 1 is about 110 meters below the elevation of the new water treatment plant, creating a significant amount of potential energy to recover.

Nanaimo’s gravity municipal water system uses common globe-styled control valves to control the filling of a reservoir. Water filling the reservoir by gravity passes through a control building containing pressure reducing valves (PRV’s); the PRV’s dissipates the excess pressure, which is hydraulic potential energy, enabling the filling of a reservoir to a set water level. In most cases, this potential energy is lost; however, in the case of the new Reservoir No 1, there was a potential to use hydroelectric turbines instead of PRV’s to dissipate the excess energy while filling the reservoir; recovering this energy in the form of electricity to be sold back into BC Hydro’s grid.

Energy Savings/GHG reductions

Thirty per cent of water delivered to the city flows though Reservoir No 1, and the control building associated with the reservoir. Based on the projected year 2025 average annual demand of 21,100 MegaLitres(ML)/year, this equates to additional available power of approximately 0.75-1.0 Gigawatt Hour (GWh) per year (assuming 75% power recovery efficiency) generated by three turbines that can be harvested back to the BC Hydro grid annually. This amounts in enough energy to power about 60-70 homes.

According to the greenhouse gas (GHG) factors from the BC Greenhouse Gas Assessment Guide, potential annual energy savings are 750,000-1,000,000 kWh per year.

Nanaimo’s current GHG output for its entire waterworks department is approximately 29 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Introducing the energy recovery system will reduce the waterworks total GHG production to 9 tonnes CO2e.

“Nanaimo is very pleased to conclude this agreement with our partner, BC Hydro. This initiative has long been a priority of Council, and demonstrates the city’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gases and supporting a healthy environment. It will also provide the city with revenue as we can sell power back into the grid, and help recover operating costs of the water supply system.” – John Ruttan, Mayor, City of Nanaimo

“This agreement makes sense – it’s an innovative use of new infrastructure and the project reflects the types of future projects we hope to see under a new stream of the Standing Offer Program that targets small-scale projects with less than one megawatt of capacity. The project will inform how we design the new stream, which will help us meet our clean energy commitments moving forward.”- Doug Little, VP, Energy Planning and Economic Development, BC Hydro

The new water supply system takes advantage of the area’s topography and hydraulics.

Business case

This project marks an important collaboration between the City of Nanaimo and BC Hydro under the Energy Purchase Agreement to provide locally-generated power to the community. Through BC Hydro’s Standing Offer Program, the City is able to create revenue by selling the electricity generated from the energy recovery system back into the power company’s grid. This further agrees with both partners’ goals in carbon footprint reduction set out in the 2007 BC Energy Plan and the 2010 Clean Energy Act.Of the total project cost of $11.2 million, the City of Nanaimo received $7.68 million on funding from the federal Gas Tax Fund administered through the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM). The remaining $3.5 million cost was covered by the City Water Fund.

The new Resevoir No 1 and Energy Recovery Facility went on-line in April 2014. Since then, the facility has provided 750 Megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy to BC Hydro’s grid, averaging about 65MWh production per month during the ‘low flow’ months. This hydro-electric power generation is expected to generate between $70,000 and $90,000 in additional annual revenue to the City’s water fund. As a result of the cost sharing, the project has a short payback period of less than ten years and will remain operational for at least the next 50 years. The Energy Purchase Agreement has a 20 year duration, with an opportunity to extend.

Prior to the collaboration with BC Hydro, the City of Nanaimo worked though water licensing process to apply for a power production water license. Other close working relationships included the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Water Stewardship Branch which enabled smooth operation of the process.

Co-Benefits

The creation of improved infrastructure is a driver for economic and social development, providing several short term jobs over the design and construction period and providing surety to the community of Nanaimo, increasing the attractiveness of the city as a place to invest, work and live.

Nanaimo is a leader in demonstrating how a municipality’s water system can offset GHGs and recovery energy. It may also encourage competition in a growing number of small and green projects in the marketplace.

The new facility ensures that residents will have continued access to safe, clean drinking water.

The configuration of the water supply system involves feeding water from the reservoir throughout the lower elevations of the city. As a result, the new reservoir provides a provision of fire protection from Chase River to Departure Bay as well as emergency storage. If the entire North Nanaimo system were to be taken off-line, or it there were to be increase fire flow requirements, the new reservoir can be used to augment or replace the system.

This energy recovery project supports the Province’s commitment to reducing provincial GHG emissions by at least 33 per cent below 2007 levels by 2020 and meets a key goal in the Water Supply Strategic Plan and bringing the region a step closer to becoming a carbon neutral community.

Lessons learned

Collaboration was a vital component of the success of the project. It would not have succeeded without the leadership shown by City of Nanaimo Mayor and Council and their vision of a sustainable community. The Council has been extremely supportive and enthusiastically encouraging throughout the project’s development and implementation. BC Hydro also demonstrated tremendous leadership with a partnered approach in the project.

Completion of the new reservoir and facility was a great accomplishment for the city. The $11.2-million reservoir will help Nanaimo meet new drinking water guidelines, and replaces a 100 year old asset that stored untreated water in an open-air reservoir.

Local government contact

Bill Sims, Manager
Water Resources, City of Nanaimo
T: (250) 756-5302
E: Bill.sims@nanaimo.ca

Sparwood’s leisure center and arena retrofits help the municipality meet its CEEP energy goals.

The municipality of Sparwood updated old fragmented heating and lighting infrastructure in the community leisure centre and arena to increase efficiency and help achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets laid out by the municipality.

Project Summary

The District of Sparwood modified their Community Leisure Center and Arena Complex to address the building’s high energy inefficiency and aging infrastructure.

Prior to the project, the Sparwood Community Leisure Center and Arena Complex had the most inefficient use of energy and produced the highest amount of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in the district. The center consists of a pool, curling rink and an arena.

Similar to other recreation centers that were constructed in the 1970’s and the 1980’s, the Sparwood Community Leisure Center and Arena Complex were built with a separate heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system as well as domestic hot water (DHW) systems. Due to the District’s desire to showcase their commitment to lower their GHG emissions, two retrofit projects were envisioned to update the low efficiency, disjointed and aging infrastructure within the center.

In October of 2014, after three years of work, all stages of the Sparwood Community Leisure Center and Arena energy upgrades were completed and are now operational. The three phases of the project were;

1. the retrofit of aquatics center and heating systems,
2. updating the arena complex’s heating systems and physical plant compressors, and
3. transitioning from metal halide lighting systems over to LED lighting systems.

With these features incorporated into the design, project proponents anticipated dramatically reduced energy bills and maintenance costs, and the business case for the project became clear. Fire hall replacement costs were reduced even further when the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) awarded the project a grant and a low interest loan through its Green Municipalities Fund. FCM praised the project as a demonstration “to the community and the rest of Canada what innovative environmental – and especially energy-efficient – municipal building practices can achieve with thoughtful planning, careful budgeting, and a multi-disciplinary team.”

Energy Savings/GHG reductions

Estimated GHG reduction of 182 tonnes CO2e and 4844 GJ per year compared to 2012 levels, a 47% emissions and energy consumption reduction. 90% waste heat recapture in aquatics centre (phase 1). 60% heat energy recapture from the arena compressors (phase 2). 60% decrease in energy use for lighting (phase 3).

Due to the District’s desire to showcase their commitment to lower their GHG emissions, two retrofit projects were envisioned to update the low efficiency, disjointed and aging infrastructure within the center.

Business case

As all three phases of the system retrofit have only been completed and operational since October 2014, calculations on the return on investment will only begin to emerge in the coming months. The Municipality expects a short payback period of under five years on their own contributions, with an estimated total payback period of 10-12 years. Money saved by the Municipality because of decreased energy consumption as a result of this project will be reinvested in the community and further help to reach goals laid out by the Municipality to reduce GHG emissions in the transportation and buildings sectors.

In the early stages of the project’s development, it was made evident that without the retrofit of the Community Leisure Center, a total of $250,000 would have been spent over the next 10 years to slowly upgrade the center’s aging infrastructure, and limited energy or emissions savings would be achieved as a result.

While the $1.48 million price tag of the three phase retrofit project is much more than upgrading infrastructure without a retrofit, the overall savings achieved through green design principles over the next ten years is estimated at $1.3 million. This figure comes from an estimated savings on natural gas and electricity cost by $65,000 – $85,000 annually, with an additional $20,000 savings coming from reduced maintenance needs of the new, less fragmented system.

During the first four months of the first phase of the project, the municipality saw a savings of $15,833 on energy costs. As a result, the actual cost of this project over a ten year timespan is net positive for the Municipality when project grants are considered.

This project received grant funding from three major sources: the Provincial Community Recreation Program fund($400,000), and the Federal Gas Tax fund ($757,752); the local taxpayers contributed $322,248 of which $96,824 was through municipal reserves and $223,434 was funded through annual Federal gas tax contributions. This synthesis of Municipal, Federal, and Provincial funds for community improvement shows how effective community development can be sustainable and cooperative without breaking the bank.

This retrofit will not only help to achieve goals laid out in Sparwood’s CEEP plan, but the improved design will lead to tangible savings for the local government in the next decade. With these savings from the new retrofit, there will be more money to invest in the improved sustainability and health of the community. It is worth noting that the project won an honourable mention at the Community Energy Association’s 2014 Climate and Energy Action Awards.

Co-Benefits

As the center anticipates to save approximately $65,000 to $85,000 annually, that money will be reinvested into other parts of the community, such as increasingly the walkability of the community and parks trails, as well as public engagement programs that will strengthen the Sparwood community and promote active living. So far utilizing the energy retrofit savings—now allocated directly into the Energy Retrofit Savings Fund—the District has been able to undertake a number of community projects including the construction of a toboggan hill, purchase of rental ice skates which allows for more people to access our arena, and the construction of a new 4.5 km trail in our community. The hope is that this reinvestment will have a measurable impact on vehicle use in the municipality, further reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector as a direct result of this building retrofit.

Additionally, Sparwood anticipates that their leadership in sustainable development within the community will inspire local businesses to undertake similar upgrades to their own facilities.

Furthermore, this retrofit could serve as a model for a residential program that incentivises Sparwood residents to upgrade their own homes heating and heat recovery systems. This project is fully in line with the CEEP action plan laid out by Sparwood in 2013, and is an integral part of the overall strategy it conveys.

Lessons learned

Coming up with the most effective way to maximize a relatively limited budget for a significantly large project was the most challenging aspect of the project. The District had to ensure sufficient resources in the reserve funds in order to match the required contribution needed to apply for the grants. The District believes that it would have been more efficient to undertake the two heating retrofits as a single unified project rather than in two phases; however, funding was only available for one project at a time.

As with most retrofit projects, the District was faced with challenges of having to accommodate original design and optimize the new systems to make them work in an older facility. On a positive side, undertaking a retrofit project often reveals opportunities for additional unexpected improvements. During the process, the District discovered that the building pressure vents were installed upside down and an exterior wall had no insulation installed, both resulting in massive amounts of heat loss in the leisure centre. By uncovering these issues, the project will result in further reductions in GHG emission and energy consumption.

Local government contact

Duane Lawrence,
Director of Community & Facility Services
T: (250) 425-0552
E: dlawrence@sparwood.ca

Town of Qualicum Beach cuts emissions & saves on energy bills by making energy efficiency one of the top priorities for their new fire hall replacement project.

Following through on commitments made in the OCP to support building more energy efficient municipal infrastructure, the Town of Qualicum Beach replaced the old Fire hall moving them closer towards meeting the Town’s energy goals.

Project Summary

Qualicum Beach’s 2011 Official Community Plan (OCP) includes a sustainability component that recognizes the importance of taking action to ensure a sustainable future for the community. The OCP’s sustainability component includes “visionary principles” that commit the municipality to building “progressive infrastructure” that is “efficient and effective at meeting the Town’s energy goals.”

In 2012, Qualicum Beach decided to replace its ageing fire hall. The fire hall project presented an opportunity for Qualicum Beach to follow through on its commitment to energy efficient municipal infrastructure. Early in the process, the town formed a broad-based working group of elected officials, staff and community members to advise on the design and construction of the fire hall. Working by consensus, the group made energy efficiency and service delivery key priorities. After hearing from the public at information sessions, the working group decided on a design that had a number of leading edge energy-efficiency features including:

• A highly innovative heat-exchange system that heats the building by drawing on heat from a nearby municipal well
• A “solarwall” to pre-heat air coming into the building’s ventilation system
• A “bioswale” to collect and filter runoff from non-porous surfaces
• Solar photovoltaic panels to provide about 27 kw of power for LED lighting, and
• Locally sourced building materials.

With these features incorporated into the design, project proponents anticipated dramatically reduced energy bills and maintenance costs, and the business case for the project became clear. Fire hall replacement costs were reduced even further when the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) awarded the project a grant and a low interest loan through its Green Municipalities Fund. FCM praised the project as a demonstration “to the community and the rest of Canada what innovative environmental – and especially energy-efficient – municipal building practices can achieve with thoughtful planning, careful budgeting, and a multi-disciplinary team.”

Energy Savings/GHG reductions

Estimates are that energy savings will average around 72% a year compared to a building of the same size constructed to standard requirements under BC’s Building Code. A large portion of the energy savings comes from the fire hall’s innovative heating system, which will use one tenth of the power that conventional heating systems would use in a comparable building.

“With these [energy efficiency] features incorporated into the design, project proponents anticipated dramatically reduced energy bills and maintenance costs, and the business case for the project became clear.”

Business case

The total cost for the project was $6.5 million, with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) contributing a $464,467 grant and a $4,644,672 low-interest loan through the Green Municipal Fund. The financial benefits of the new building’s energy savings represent energy savings of about 72% compared to a fire hall built to BC’s standard Building Code. It is estimated that the energy efficiency measures will amount to as much as $30,000 in savings annually. These outlays also contrast with the estimated costs required to bring the old fire hall -which was half the size of the new one – up to modern building code and seismic standards. Those expenses were estimated to be $40,000 for asbestos abatement and $800,000 for seismic upgrades.

Co-Benefits

Reduced operating, maintenance and personnel costs

The fire hall’s high quality building envelope and energy-efficiency features are anticipated to reduce ongoing costs by dramatically reducing energy bills and maintenance costs. Personnel costs will also be reduced through green building strategies that improve air quality and human comfort, thereby reducing sick time and other personnel expenses.

BC Wood First Policy

The building supports BC’s Wood First Policy by using wood in over 80% of the structure and revealing it as the final finish where possible. Some of the lumber used in the project is an innovative wood product called “Cross Laminated Timber Panels” which are created by laminating dimensional lumber into large wood panels.

Public awareness, perception of public safety, civic pride

The award-winning fire hall has bolstered community pride by enhancing the Town’s reputation as a leader in sustainability, showing how careful planning and a multi-disciplinary team effort can yield powerful results.

Reduced congestion

The location of the fire hall at the edge of town has meant less urban congestion when fire trucks are called to an emergency (the old fire hall was located at a busy central intersection that sometimes affected emergency response times).

Lessons learned

Start early with a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach

Project proponents realized early on that development of a complex and innovative building would require input from a range of elected officials, municipal staff and technical professionals. As well, achieving energy and financial efficiencies required some additional “upfront” investment, so it was important to get community support for the fire hall project’s sustainability goals. The early formation of an advisory committee made up of technical experts, community members and local government officials helped to build support for the project in the community from the outset, and to promote a shared understanding of the project’s aims.

Funding Opportunities improve business case

The total budget for the project was well over $6 million, and the town required a long-term loan to finance the project. The low-interest loan and energy efficiency grant from FCM’s Green Municipality Fund helped to ameliorate some of the community’s concerns and made it more clear that investing in an energy efficient fire hall made sound financial sense over the long term.

Clear and Consistent Communications Strategy

With a compelling business case and growing interest in sustainable development, many in the community supported the fire hall’s energy efficient upgrade. But some opposition remained. Using the business case and the Green Communities award as the basis for the project’s communications strategy helped to overcome some of the remaining opposition in the community.

Local government contact

Luke Sales, MCIP, RPP
Director of Planning at Town of Qualicum Beach
T: 250.752.6921
E: lsales@qualicumbeach.com