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Alternative energy plans have been considered by New West for heating the Royal Columbian Hospital

Alternative energy plans have been considered by New West for heating the Royal Columbian Hospital

Alternative energy plans have been considered by New West for heating the Royal Columbian Hospital

The City of New Westminster are considering 2 options for a heating system to supply renewable source heat to Royal Columbian Hospital as well as a 35 acre residential and commercial development at Sapperton Green, which will enable greenhouse gas emission to be reduced by up to 84%.

There is a feasibility study currently being drawn up that will compare the 2 sources of energy; Boilers fuelled by waste wood chips, or heat recovery from sewage. The heat will then be transferred through hot water pipes in order to supply the hospital and other buildings nearby. A senior planner for New Westminster, Mark Allison said, “We have a good supply of wood chips nearby and we also have a Metro Vancouver sewer main from the northeast sector running right by the hospital site.”

District energy heating systems are large scale, multi building heating projects which enable energy to be supplied over a large area by burning carbon neutral fuels or recovery energy from industrial sources or waste, or simply from other buildings. There are 2sewage heat-recovery systems and 1 wood-based system are already in place in B.C. — at the University of B.C., the False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility at the Olympic Village in Vancouver and in Whistler at Cheakamus Crossing.

The overall cost of the project is estimated at $40 million for a wood-waste system to $50 million for an off-site sewage-based system. According to city documents, lower operating costs will make both technologies competitive with natural gas. There is a 3rd option available — sewer heat could be recovered from the hospital itself and combined with natural gas boilers. This will make it less expensive, although it will offer no energy cost savings and would incur higher carbon taxes and offset costs compared with the other 2 options.