Feasibility Study - Town of Placentia Energy, Sustainability and Facility Renewal Project

The Town of Placentia will identify energy conservation and facility renewal opportunities to lower operating costs and renew aging building systems infrastructure for five of its municipal assets: the Ice Arena, Town Hall, Arts Centre, Fire Hall, Interpretation Centre, and Maintenance Depot. In applying proven technologies, this feasibility study is expected to show that the targeted reduction in energy consumption in the Town's facilities is both possible and financially viable through the retrofit and upgrade of existing building systems. In addition, this project is expected to position the small community as leaders in environmental protection. The Town strives to be an early adopter and contributor to the provincial Climate Change Action Plan, as set out in "The Way Forward”.The feasibility study will include a detailed survey of building systems and operations (electrical, mechanical, water, building envelope, and occupancy patterns). This will be followed by an identification and quantification of energy and operating cost saving measures for each energy system, including modelling of power and energy response. Bid-level construction costs and financial risk mitigation analysis will inform the economic feasibility of the retrofits, as a communications and awareness plan will ensure the inclusion of stakeholder feedback. In terms of the latter, the study will involve a series of project development consultation reviews, where the project stakeholders will have an opportunity to review the measures under consideration, provide feedback and co-author the final solutions that satisfy their needs. It is expected that the energy use reductions will result in a positive impact on the environment by reducing GHG emissions and the carbon foot print for the Town's facilities and the community at large. It is expected that this feasibility study will identify opportunities with the potential to reduce energy and water consumption and GHG emissions by a minimum of 50%, compared to current baseline performance. Compared to baseline energy use, 30 to 55% of the reductions will result from upgrading the existing T12/T8/mercury vapor lighting systems to energy efficient LED lighting technology. An additional 15% to 30% reduction is expected from implementing mechanical and control system upgrades, including installation of high efficiency motors, variable frequency drives, automated controls and deployment of energy efficient control strategies. Between five to ten percent in additional reductions of energy use are expected as a direct impact of behavioral changes among the Town's facility occupants, attributable to the planned Communication and Awareness campaign. Finally, the implementation of renewable energy technologies such as a small scale wind turbine and/or solar PV is expected displace 2 to 6% of total purchased electricity for all facilities.