Guelph, ON: Basil Stewart, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and Mayor of Summerside, P.E.I., and Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt announced a Green Municipal Fund™ (GMF) grant January 15 of $145,750 to study the feasibility of a district energy system in Guelph, designed to provide heating, cooling and electricity at three sites: the Guelph General Hospital, the downtown core and the University of Guelph.
Guelph Hydro Inc. and Union Gas Limited, in partnership with the City of Guelph, will examine, as part of the study, various sources of renewable energy (solar and wind power, solar heating, ground source heating and cooling), and the use of an upgraded waste-derived fuel in the form of pellets from landfills to supply a district energy system, that is principally focused on retrofitting existing building and energy system infrastructure.
The study will also explore other options for increasing energy efficiency, and use life cycle analysis to evaluate and compare the environmental and social impacts of each option. The final study report will include draft designs, preliminary cost estimates and implementation schedules, and will address required regulatory approvals.
The implementation of a district energy system is expected to reduce overall energy system costs, reduce carbon emissions, improve local air quality, create local employment, attract green businesses and reduce the energy loss associated with long distance transmission of electricity. It is also anticipated to reduce the need to import less clean and more expensive electricity during peak demand periods.
If the proposed district energy system is feasible, the Guelph initiative could become a model for other mid-sized communities in Canada with a long-term vision for the use of renewable energy and energy conservation, the FCM says.
“Guelph Hydro Inc. is committed to powering our community and this project is another way for us to do so,” said Guelph Hydro Inc. CEO Barry Chuddy. “As the major entity implementing the community energy plan for the City, Guelph Hydro Inc. believes that district energy is a key component to a sustainable energy future for Guelph.” “What makes this project exciting for Union Gas is that the joint commitment of all the funding partners demonstrates the value of working together to help create more sustainable communities,” said Mel Ydreos, Vice President, Marketing and Customer Care, Union Gas.
Graphic: 2015 supply projection
Caption: Nothing stays the same: This pie chart, from the IESO’s comments on the Supply Plan only five years ago (2005), dramatizes how significantly circumstances have changed in Ontario. From a projected 5% of capacity, say 1500 MW of wind in the supply mix, taking 30,000 MW of total installed capacity as a round figure, Ontario is now looking at up to 8000 MW of wind under the new Green Energy Act and Feed-In Tariff. Ontario’s agencies have to maintain reliability under these changing scenarios.
Graphic:
Caption: Existing, committed and directed supply: a more up-to-date projection from the OPA.
Table: IESO on supply mix