VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Creative Energy, a low-carbon district energy developer and owner of one of the largest thermal energy networks in North America, has announced a new partnership with the Squamish Nation to develop and operate a zero-carbon district energy system using sewer heat energy from Metro Vancouver’s infrastructure. The completed project will allow Sen̓áḵw to become the largest carbon neutral rental development in Canada.
"Metro Vancouver is always looking for ways to make the most of the energy and resources in wastewater," said Richard Stewart, chair of Metro Vancouver’s Liquid Waste Committee. "Reclaiming heat from our wastewater will help our region reach resource recovery and climate targets while ensuring the long-term sustainability and livability of our region."
Creative Energy’s innovative district energy system will capture heat from underground wastewater, extracting and reusing the energy through utility-scale heat pumps to distribute across the nearly four-million square foot development. The district energy system is expected to eliminate 140,000 tons of GHG emissions over 30 years compared to natural gas heating – the equivalent of 2.2 million tree seedlings grown for 10 years. The system is designed with capacity to expand over time, to accommodate plans to serve neighbouring buildings and interconnect with Creative Energy’s downtown Vancouver network.
“We are proud to partner with the Squamish Nation to provide sustainable heating and cooling to the Sen̓áḵw Development,” said Wayne O’Connor, president and chief executive officer, Creative Energy. “This development is an exciting opportunity to create a significant contribution to Vancouver through a carbon neutral purpose-built rental development that uses sewer waste heat as a primary resource. We are committed to working with Squamish Nation to support their economic development, as well as honour their land and history, while working towards a more sustainable, equitable future together.”
“This partnership with Creative Energy is an important step in the Sen̓áḵw Development,” said Mindy Wight, CEO, Nch’kaỷ Development Corporation. “Sustainability always has been and always will be a priority for the Nation. This district energy system is key to this project achieving carbon neutrality and to our goal of having as little impact on our environment as possible. We look forward to working closely with Creative Energy to create innovative low-carbon energy infrastructure for Vancouver, that will help reduce the carbon footprint not only of this project but the city as a whole.”
As a regulated public utility, Creative Energy has submitted for the approval of the project from the BC Utilities Commission in 2022 and expects the first phase of the project to be completed in 2024.
About Creative Energy
Creative Energy is the owner and operator of one of the largest district energy systems in North America. With over 50 years of operation in downtown Vancouver and a 99.99% reliability record, Creative Energy is committed to facilitating significant reductions to the carbon footprints of the cities in which they operate. They currently operate five energy systems, with new low-carbon district energy projects under development across North America, integrating innovative technologies including heat recovery, geo-exchange, ocean-exchange, co-generation and microgrids. In Vancouver, Creative Energy is undertaking one of the largest fuel switch projects in North America, redeveloping their original downtown Vancouver plant with the long-term goal of decarbonizing this system.
Visit us at creative.energy
For more information:
Diego Mandelbaum
Tel: (416) 333-9880
Email: Diego@Creative.Energy
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b771e16e-1912-4476-9e16-025ca11fad1f
