City of Nelson District Energy System Feasibility Study

The City of Nelson will conduct a feasibility study to assess three energy generation options for a proposed district energy system (DES) in the city’s Lakefront area. The city has demonstrated a commitment to long term sustainability through the signing of the BC Climate Action Charter, the development of a Path to 2040 Sustainability Strategy, a Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan and a Community Energy and Emissions Plan, and as a member of the FCM Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) Program. In developing its Path to 2040 strategy, the city conducted an extensive public engagement process in which community members identified a DES as a priority. This feasibility study will examine a warm-water and a hot-water heat pump system, which would rely on lake water as a heat source, and a biomass boiler system, which would use low-cost waste material from nearby mills. To identify the optimal energy source for the DES, the study will focus on 35 buildings in the city’s Lakefront area that were identified in an earlier pre-feasibility study. Each building will be assessed according to estimated energy savings, GHG emission reductions, and the costs for each DES option compared to baseline measurements. The study will also determine the effect of a lake-sourced heat pump system on water temperatures; the impact of a biomass system on air quality; plant construction costs and conversion costs; DES staffing requirements and employment opportunities; operating costs and revenue estimates; and will develop a DES business case and model. The three municipal buildings included in the study, the City Hall, the Civic Centre, and the Curling Arena, would achieve an estimated reduction in GHG emissions of 500 tonnes CO2e each year as a result of connection to the DES. This is equivalent to a 95% reduction in emissions for each building and a 36% reduction in total corporate GHG emissions for the city. Heat pump technology and biomass boilers have been employed in Europe, but have only recently been distributed within North America. In addition, the DES will allow Nelson to become carbon neutral in its corporate operations through emission reduction credits achieved within the community, instead of through the purchase of carbon offsets, which is currently novel within BC. Regardless of the system it eventually chooses, the city will be able to share its experience and lessons learned through affiliations with the Carbon Neutral Kootenays and the Columbia Basin Trust, the BC Climate Action Charter and the PCP Program. (Project description from original funding application)