River District Energy and Metro Vancouver have reached an agreement that will make the River District first in line to take advantage of Metro Vancouver’s planned waste-to-energy heat recovery facility.
Under the agreement, River District Energy will purchase up to 10 megawatts of heat for the community.
The new heat recovery facility, an addition to Vancouver’s existing Waste-to-Energy Facility, will provide space heating and hot water for the River District’s 18,000 residents, plus over 500,000 square feet of commercial and office space.
Waste to Energy in Vancouver
Vancouver’s Waste-to-Energy Facility has been in operation since 1988. The facility processes about 260,000 tonnes of garbage every year, burning it to heat water into steam, which generates electricity for the region.
It currently produces 22 megawatts of electricity, which is sold to BC Hydro. That’s enough electricity for roughly 16,000 homes per year.
With the addition of a heat recovery facility, the steam produced by the incineration process can be piped through a new district energy system to deliver hot water to the River District. In a press release, Metro Vancouver said the project “triples the amount of energy that can be recovered from the waste-to-energy process.”
Sav Dhaliwal, Burnaby Councillor and chair of the board of directors for Metro Vancouver, tweeted that the facility will reduce the District’s greenhouse gas emissions by 90%. Says Dhaliwal:
Get the Green Building Project Checklist
Use this handy checklist on your next project to keep track of all the ways you can make your home more energy-efficient and sustainable.
“Metro Vancouver is committed to being part of the solution in the fight against climate change, and we are thrilled to partner with River District Energy providing cost effective energy in the pursuit of lower emissions and energy efficient communities.”
Project design for the new energy centre at Metro Vancouver’s Waste-to-Energy Facility, as well as the necessary pipe system, will begin in 2022. Construction on the River District’s Community Energy Centre is slated for 2023. The entire project is expected to be completed and operational by 2025.
Image credit: Roshan Raj
