Celsius – Study of an Alley Heating System Project in Rosemont-La Petite Patrie

Celsius Mtl, a citizens’ group, is partnering with the Montreal borough of Rosemont-La Petite Patrie (RPP) on a feasibility study. Celsius is a project that will install a heating system in some of the borough’s alleys. The objective is to give citizens living on the alleys an alternate form of energy, green and local, to heat their homes. The project plans to install a low-temperature heating system in the alley and interested citizens will be able to connect to it to replace their natural gas or oil heating and even reduce their electricity consumption. The heat will initially be produced by a community geothermal system also installed in the alley, but the heating system could later accommodate other heat sources, like solar thermal energy or heat recovery. The goal of this feasibility study is to assess the favourable conditions for installing a geothermal heating system and resolving a number of issues directly identified by the citizens living on the alleys: - Energy cost and access to green technologies - Improvement of the physical living environment - Use of local energy - Strengthening the social fabric - Supporting community action - Reducing the impact of heat waves The feasibility study will also investigate the preliminary analysis of the project’s environmental benefits. Based on this analysis, recommendations will be made to confirm the anticipated environmental benefits and identify potential alleys and key groups that will participate in the project. This work will be done in cooperation with a group of citizens and planning workshops will be held to cover all the options considered to reduce the environmental impact of the energy system, including replacement of energy sources, energy efficiency opportunities and heat recovery. In addition, to support project replication, the study will identify barriers to the use of such a system. The direct environmental benefits are 1) reduction of fossil fuel consumption, 2) reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 3) reduction of fine particulate emissions. Indirect environmental benefits are also expected, including the greening of public spaces in the borough and reduction of water use with cooling system upgrades. This project will also reduce citizens’ energy costs and strengthen their resilience, reduce their dependence on polluting energy sources and reinforce the borough’s social fabric, which is fundamental to the success of such a project. Fully aligned with Montreal’s sustainability objectives, this project takes an integrated systems approach that involves the participation of a wide variety of stakeholders. The PLAN4DE analysis model developed by the International Energy Agency will be the tool used to find the alleys where the project will be installed. (Project description from original funding application)