The Globe and Mail
Summary
It’s one thing to aim to make a building carbon-neutral, but the challenge expands when you look to share the warmth with entire communities. A couple of innovative developments in Canada are getting closer to zero net carbon by getting nature to provide much of the cooling and heating.
District energy has come into sharper focus since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in April that Canada is increasing the country’s goal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to as much as 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, a significant increase from Canada’s previous commitment of 30-per-cent reduction. The target for achieving net-zero emissions is 2050.
A major redevelopment within sight of Parliament Hill is an example of how innovation can achieve close to zero-carbon efficiency, not just for one building but an entire community. While several district thermal systems exist in Canada, the Zibi Community Utility will be the first in North America to use postindustrial effluent energy recovery in a master-planned community.
Zibi means “river” in the Algonquin language and the 34-acre brownfield redevelopment will become a riverfront city with 2.5 million square feet of office and commercial space, providing employment for about 6,000 as well as 2,500 residential units.
The utility will recover waste heat from the nearby Kruger Products tissue-making plant for heating, and use the water of the Ottawa River for cooling. It’s an equal partnership between Hydro Ottawa and Zibi, which is itself unique and an example of how federal, provincial and municipal players can co-operate on large-scale energy-saving projects.
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