SFU is partnering with SFU Community Trust, Corix Utilities and BC Hydro on a new high-efficiency energy plant that will use wood waste to produce enough heat and hot water for the entire Burnaby campus and future homes in UniverCity.

The B.C. government is providing $4.7 million for the Burnaby Mountain project, which is projected to eliminate 11,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases each year, equivalent to the amount generated by more than 900 homes.

Corix will build and own the $32.4-million central heating plant, scheduled for completion by winter 2012, and be responsible for operating and maintenance costs. SFU and UniverCity will purchase energy from Corix at a rate set by the B.C. Utility Commission.

The thermal energy “provides a unique model for district energy projects in B.C.,” says SFU president Andrew Petter.

“As Canada's most community-engaged research university, Simon Fraser is committed to implementing as well as researching sustainable energy solutions. This project is an innovative and efficient system that reflects SFU's determination to be a community leader in sustainable practices."

SFU Burnaby’s aging natural gas boilers, which are at the end of their useful life, were responsible for 85 per cent of the university’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2007. Under B.C.’s Bill 44, which imposes penalties for carbon emissions by public bodies, those GHG emissions cost the school approximately $1 million each year.

The new central heating plant will use existing infrastructure once the boilers are retired to deliver heat and hot water to the campus and to all new buildings constructed at SFU’s UniverCity residential community.

The new plant, in conjunction with a $6.7-million option for green electricity generation—with BC Hydro as a buyer—would reduce SFU’s heating GHG emissions by 80 per cent, saving the university the cost of carbon offsets.

The combined heat and power project will have a total capacity of 36 megawatts, enough to supply more than 90 per cent of the total annual energy needs for SFU and UniverCity combined.