RC105 MarApr2023 - Magazine - Page 18
ENERGY
MARKHAM DISTRICT ENERGY
A MODEL OF COLLABORATION
With more than 200 buildings under its control,
accounting for some 13 million square feet
of development, Markham District Energy
(MDE) was the first system in North America to
introduce combined heat and power (CHP)—a
highly efficient approach that concurrently
produces electricity and thermal energy from a
single energy source. At present, MDE relies on
natural gas as its primary fuel for heating but
plans to transition to non-carbon energy sources
when conditions are right. To that end, the CIB
and CIBC recently committed a total of $270
million to be invested over the next 10 years
to fund both expansion and the application of
Mississauga reduce GHG emissions by 80
per cent by 2050. CIB and Enwave are also
working to increase the impact of downtown
Toronto’s deep lake water cooling district
energy network, reflecting a $600 million
commitment from CIB.
Universities using DE
A decades-old decision to rethink how
to best benefit from a massive land grant
proved to be a turning point for Simon
Fraser University on its journey towards
net-zero. This led to the formation of SFU
Community Trust in the 1990s to develop
University City—a pedestrian-friendly community adjacent to the main campus at the
top of Burnaby Mountain. Destined to house
up to 10,000 residents at final build out, more
than half of the community now gets heating
and hot water from a DE system relying on
a biomass plant using diverted wood waste.
The plant also serves most of the campus,
making SFU one of the greenest universities
in B.C., if not Canada.
The DE system was developed in partnership with Corix Utilities and benefited from
a grant provided by B.C.’s Public Sector Energy Conservation Agreement. “Connecting
to the Corix energy plant will ensure homes
have high-quality energy for space heating
and hot water while significantly reducing
their carbon footprint,” notes Dale Mikkelsen, CEO of the Trust. “Biomass combustion
recycles the carbon already in the natural
carbon cycle with no additional CO2 added
to the atmosphere.”
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RENEW CANADA – MARCH/APRIL 2023
In Ontario, the CIB is also partnering
with the University of Toronto, which has
embarked on a massive long-term modernization process of its ancient (by DE
standards) district heating system as part of
its Low Carbon Action Plan. CIB hopes to
leverage U of T’s high-profile to encourage
other universities and colleges to follow
U of T’s lead. Elsewhere in Toronto, York
University already operates a co-generation
district energy facility and its first foray into
York Region, a new campus to be connected
to DE in Markham Centre is currently under
construction.
Fostering continuous innovation
Whether it is capturing energy from
wave action on the west coast to power
DE communities or turning to energy
from waste to supply a DE project in
Newfoundland, the emergence of a new
crop of innovative energy companies
is helping renew interest in district
energy across the country. The common
denominator is a commitment to net-zero
that is both policy-led and pecuniary
self-interest. In Toronto, building on a
brave decision made by OMERS more
than 20 years ago to turn a radical idea—
deep lake water cooling—into a platform
that has since proved its worth to blue
chip investors, the blurring of lines of
responsibility between city builders and
energy companies can only have positive
impacts for Canadian communities in
search of net-zero emissions.
fuel-switching technology such as capturing
waste heat from York Region’s trunk sanitary
sewer. Another low-carbon approach currently
being tested thanks to a $10-million injection
of capital from the Federation of Canadian
Municipalities is a biomass plant, which is fed by
wood pellets.
According to Bruce Ander, MDE’s president
and CEO, these moves are part of MDE’s plan
to continue serving development that is netzero ready, capable of reducing emissions by
more than 30,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas
emissions annually.
As a utility owned by the municipality, MDE
is already a poster child for MUSH sector
collaboration, providing thermal energy to two
high schools, municipal buildings, recreational
facilities, Markham Stouffville Hospital (the
anchor of MDE’s second network) as well as
many commercial, residential, and institutional
customers. In 2023, MDE will connect a new
York University campus to its system that is
currently under construction in Markham’s
downtown core.
RENEWCANADA.NET
MDE: CANADA INFRASTRUCTURE BANK, U OF T: JOHNNY GUATTO/UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
The University of Toronto received $56 million from the Canada Infrastructure Bank to help complete deep energy
retrofit projects to modernize the school’s district energy system.
