District Energy System, Recovery of Waste Energy from an Incinerator, City of Québec

The City of Quebec is studying the feasibility of recovering residual energy produced by the La Cité-Limoilou municipal incinerator by building a district energy network. The incinerator generates the equivalent of 2,300,000 GJ/year of steam. In the past, a paper mill recovered 70 per cent of this steam. Since the mill has shut down indefinitely, about 90 per cent of the energy is now dispersed into the atmosphere. The planned study will determine the technical, legal, financial, commercial, social and environmental conditions required to set up a district energy network in the Borough of La Cité-Limoilou. This borough of about 109,000 residents represents 22 per cent of the City of Quebec’s total population and covers 2,200 hectares in area. The planned network will heat two hospitals, Hôpital de l'Enfant-Jésus and the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec (IUMSQ), which could both consume and supply the network’s energy. The network would also heat a future eco-district (the Pointe-D'Estimauville district) and an industrial park. Quebec City will consult its public works staff, potential customers and regulators. After this study, once the project has been shown to be viable and the paper mill’s fate is known, public consultations can be held. The feasibility study will also determine what conditions will enable the district energy network to grow and serve more customers. As a complement to this solution, the potential for generating electricity will be assessed to optimize use of the steam produced by the incinerator. The study is expected to show that the network’s future customers would consume 70 per cent less fossil fuel. (As per February 10, 2016 announcement)