Low-Carbon Thermal Energy Study

The City of Surrey’s population is expected to triple by 2040, a likelihood that will have profound impacts on the level of GHG emissions created by the city’s district energy (DE) system. A feasibility study comparing lower-carbon thermal energy sources (Biomass and Waste Heat Recovery) could help the city manage the projected population growth within its DE low-carbon energy commitments. The study will include lifecycle capital and operational costs, screening of viable technologies, and preliminary design strategies. Results from this study will inform the basis of design for eventual plant construction. The City’s Sustainability Charter (2016) identifies the development of a DE network fueled by low-carbon sources, and policies within the City’s Official Community Plan further support DE development as a specific means to reduce GHG emissions. The study will consist of first evaluating the existing DE network and reviewing the demand forecasts. With the established conservative natural gas baseline, plant designs of each alternative thermal energy source will inform a final cost analysis and report submission to City council. Factors such as parasitic losses* will ensure a more accurate reflection of future energy requirements, while the study of air quality impacts related to low-carbon energy generation (e.g. particulates, nitrogen oxides) will detail the exhaust filtration requirements and future dispersion analysis. Qualified engineers and alternative energy system analysts will support the City’s Engineering and Utilities teams in order to successfully execute the project. Final recommendations will depend primarily on cost-effectiveness and alignment of solutions with the City’s sustainability strategies (e.g. will maximize GHG reductions to achieve target carbon intensity of the DE system). Secondary considerations will focus on degree of novelty, ease of operability, and integration of the proposed low-carbon thermal energy into the existing DE system. In addition, sharing of biweekly progress reports with stakeholders and monthly progress meetings will inform the final report’s findings. GHG emission reduction calculations will assume the integration of at least one of the low-carbon energy initiatives by 2024.Continued development of a DE system fueled by low-carbon sources is an important strategic objective in the City of Surrey’s GHG reduction targets. By 2024, thermal energy production from the DE network could increase by a factor of 6 to approximately 67,500 MWh/year. The sole application of natural gas to this projection would result in 15,000 tonnes/year of GHG emissions. By supplying a base load of 10MW of low carbon energy by the same time period, GHG emissions could decrease to approximately 4,000 tonnes/year. This represents a GHG reduction of 73%. The development of low-carbon energy generation will also create diverse job opportunities along with the projected population growth, and development of a community-based thermal energy supply will ensure long-term resilience to fluctuating conventional energy supplies.* Components of systems (e.g. engines, motors, etc.) that take energy in order to enhance the ability of these systems to create more energy. This results in an increased energy load on the affected systems.