The Vancouver study tour delegation in the heat pump room at the False Creek Neighborhood Energy Utility (NEU) during their tour on November 20, 2024.
Exploring Clean Energy: Beyond Wind and Solar, to Thermal Energy Networks
What do you picture when you think about clean energy? You might see a wind turbine, a solar panel on top of someone’s house, an EV charging port or, if you’re in our building decarbonization world, maybe a mini-split heat pump.
Did you picture pipes? Hundreds of feet of pipes, in utility rooms and underground? Did you picture the shimmer in the air over a grocery store, venting heat from the refrigerator cases, or the warmth of your shower water spooling down the drain?
It’s hard to build what you can’t picture, so in November, BDC led a delegation on a study tour to Vancouver, British Columbia, to see thermal energy networks (TENs) in action. Metro Vancouver boasts more than a dozen significant TENs serving tens of millions of square feet, as well as smaller networks, with many more projects in development. Several feature advanced waste heat recovery systems.
Whether it’s a large facility, a network of buildings, or an entire neighborhood, TENs work by capturing and recycling the abundant heat that is all around us – be it under the ground in the form of geothermal heat, or traveling through pipes in the form of wastewater, or even heat given off by data centers and grocery stores.
Insights from Industry Leaders and Advocates
“This was nothing short of a trip to the future of heating and cooling,” said Ed Nadeau, Business Manager and Financial Secretary for UA Local 7, who attended the tour on behalf of the Pipefitters Union. “These geothermal systems — they work, they’re better, they’re cheaper, and the possibilities that await us here in New York have Local 7 members excited.”
“The potential for wastewater heat recovery for space and water heating across entire neighborhoods was especially impressive,” said Ania Camargo, BDC’s Assistant Director of Thermal Networks. “Once you start realizing how much thermal energy is in this wastewater, you can’t stop thinking about it – it’s quite literally turning waste into treasure.”
(l to r) Ed Nadeau, Business Manager/Financial Secretary for UA Local 7, discusses the geo-exchange system at the Alexandra District Energy Utility with Ania Camargo, BDC’s Associate Director of Thermal Networks, Lara Skinner from Cornell Climate Jobs Institute and Aurélie Vérin from the Building Decarbonization Alliance.
UpgradeNY: Advocating for Neighborhood-Scale Decarbonization
Many of the tour attendees were members of UpgradeNY, a collaboration of unions, climate justice advocates, building industry representatives and environmental groups who believe in neighborhood scale heating and cooling solutions, like TENs. With the ambitious goals of New York State’s ground-breaking Climate Act as a catalyst, the group came together in 2021 to call on New York policymakers to “upgrade New York” and support good jobs, clean air and climate justice through union-led building decarbonization. Early legislative progress came in 2022, when UpgradeNY helped to pass the Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act (UTENJA), which authorizes utility companies to begin to build thermal energy pilot projects across the state. Ten of these pilots are now moving into the design phase.
“As we move off of fossil fuels, thermal energy networks can help ensure it’s a just transition,” said Annie Carforo, the Climate Justice Campaigns Manager at WE ACT for Environmental Justice. “It’s a more cost-effective clean energy solution because, as we saw in Vancouver, it can serve entire neighborhoods as well as multi-family housing—something individual rebates can’t do. At the same time it will also be a boon for the trades and has the potential to expand access to high quality union jobs in underserved communities.”
Nadeau agrees. Local 7 has 900 active members but he can see that number growing substantially. “Geothermal will mean we need more workers,” he said. “We’ll go out there and recruit new apprentices and they will go on to have careers with a pension, health insurance, and a good professional living.”
Learning from Vancouver’s Decades of Experience
“It was such an incredible experience because they’ve been doing it for so long in Vancouver and we were able to learn so much from all the different groups,” said Nadeau. “There’s actually more piping in a geothermal system than in a regular gas system. I’m jealous of our younger members because there is so much opportunity coming our way if the state does this right.”
Before touring several of the sites, there were presentations and networking sessions with labor leaders, climate experts, policymakers, industry representatives and other stakeholders. They talked about how the greater Vancouver area overcame challenges to get the systems off the ground, as well as network ownership models, and Canadian utility, climate and workforce policy.
“It was a thrill to see the future of energy being created right before our eyes by innovators, workers, public servants and advocates,” said Jessica Azulay, Executive Director of Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE). “It was especially inspiring to see projects like leləm̓ that use recycled thermal energy, passive heat exchange, and have extremely low heating and cooling costs for residents. We have a vision for the clean energy transition in New York, and now we know it is possible.”
The site tours (listed below) brought the technology and policy conversations to life — and there were too many pipes to count! Projects ranged from a legacy steam system in downtown Vancouver to a massive geothermal construction project and a passive, master-planned community in the heart of Pacific Spirit Park.
Thermal Energy Networks as a Catalyst for Change
“Seeing thermal networks in action inspired us to think even bigger about the possibilities. TENs provide incredible opportunities – from offering a way to decommission the gas system while putting workers on the path to long-term, family-sustaining jobs, to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, which is vital if we want to meet our climate goals,” said Lisa Dix, BDC’s NY Director. “As we begin a new year and a new legislative season in New York State, we are excited to share what we learned in Vancouver with our policymakers and decision leaders.”
Lisa Dix, BDC New York Director (left) and Jessica Azulay, Executive Director of AGREE, examine the piping network in a residential building connected to the City Centre District Energy Utility (CCDEU).
The Sites!
- Creative Energy’s Downtown Vancouver Core system has been serving district energy needs for over 55 years, currently to 208 sites, serving tens of thousands of people. They are now modernizing and decarbonizing the system, constructing a 69-KV transmission line and on-site substation that will electrify a considerable portion of the energy they produce and offset as much as 25,000 tonnes of emissions annually. When the transition is completely finished, this will be the largest thermal fuel switch project in North America, and it is expected to eliminate 38,000 tonnes of GHG emissions per year. The tour included a birds eye view of the construction site as well as a tour of the steam plant.
Looking down at the construction site adjacent to the Creative Energy Downtown Core system steam plant, off W. Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver, BC.
- The modern False Creek Energy Center is the heart of the False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility (NEU), an energy system owned and operated by the City of Vancouver serving over 7.2 million square feet of residential, commercial and institutional space. The NEU recycles thermal energy captured from raw sewage via an efficient heat pump system to provide heat and hot water to more than 6,000 residential units, some of which were originally constructed for the 2010 Winter Olympic Village. Today, the Energy Center is part of a growing mixed use community, with new developments being added to the service area. Currently, 70% of energy at the site is generated by renewables, with a goal of 100% by 2030.
A new heat pump installed in 2024 at the False Creek NEU; the False Creek system serves more than 7.2 million square feet of mixed use space.
- The Alexandra District Energy Utility (ADEU) is the City of Richmond’s first district energy system and one that uses geo-exchange energy. Two bore fields with 726 vertical loops of pipe and ground-source heat pumps provide heating and cooling to 2,200 residential units, 12 buildings and 2.3 million feet of floor space, including 314,000 square feet of commercial space, all from a spotless and quiet central hub surrounded by grass and gardens.
- At the Oval Village DEU, which is the first of several nodes comprising the City Centre District Energy Utility (CCDEU), a Public-Private Partnership between the City of Richmond’s Lulu Island Energy Company (LIEC) and Corix, the group learned about the plans to develop a City-wide district energy system in Richmond, British Columbia. Oval Village presently serves 3.4 million square feet of residential space via a district piping network and 13 energy transfer stations. Heating energy is currently provided by two interim energy plants that use natural gas boilers to generate hot water heating. Once enough buildings are connected to the system, a permanent energy plant is planned for construction that will extract heat from a city sewer main (currently in design). It is expected that the energy recovered from the sewer will provide the majority of the energy needs for the Oval Village service area throughout the year, dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The vision for CCDEU is that by 2050, 170 new residential and mixed-use commercial development sites and 50 million square feet of floor space will be served; wastewater heat from sewer mains will be supplemented by air-source heat pumps and natural gas boilers for peaking and back-up needs. This site was a good example of the possibilities around connecting systems and scalability.
Talking with an engineer from Corix in the residential neighborhood served by the Oval Village DEU, which is the first of several nodes comprising the City Centre District Energy Utility (CCDEU) in Richmond, BC.
- An unplanned stop on the tour to The Paramount (Keltic) provided an opportunity to get up on the roof of a 15-story development that includes 558 apartment homes and 24 commercial units to see giant air source heat pumps hard at work. An in-building central plant utilizing air source heat pumps and chillers as the primary energy generation equipment provides low carbon heating and cooling energy to 600,000 square feet of residential, office, commercial and childcare spaces across 4 towers. The low carbon energy plant was built with the capability to interconnect to the wider CCDEU district when the piping infrastructure reaches the area.
- A loop around the construction site for the Oakridge Park Redevelopment Project was eye-opening in scale. Thousands of workers are constructing a 14 building, 5 million square foot, mixed use space that sits on top of hundreds of bore holes and a closed loop GeoExchange system that will provide approximately 65% of the thermal energy requirements in conjunction with heat recovery chillers. The first building was connected and service started at the end of November 2024. Phase 1 (half the development) is planned to be completed by the end of 2025, with phase 2 (full development) by end 2027. Approximately 6,200 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions are expected to be avoided when the development is finished.
- The last stop for the tour was at leləm̓, a unique masterplanned community in Pacific Spirit Park, developed by Musqueam Capital Corporation (MCC), the economic development arm of the Musqueam Indian Band. The project is estimated at a 10 year phased build out, with 1,200 residential units planned, alongside 30,000 square feet of retail space intertwined with parks and ample green space. The development utilizes wastewater energy for both heating and cooling via the SHARC WET (Wastewater Energy Transfer) System as part of the Passive Energy Loop (PEL).
Brock Trimble from SHARC explains the SHARC WET (Wastewater Energy Transfer) system in the mechanical room at leləm̓ in Pacific Spirit Park.
Our hosts!
BDC thanks our hosts in Vancouver:
Reshape Strategies – In addition to helping BDC plan the study tour and introducing us to the various industry and utility partners for the site visits, Reshape presented “The Local, National and International State of Play for Thermal Energy Networks.”
The Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) and their Sustainable Workforce Coalition (SWC), and the Canadian Building Decarbonization Alliance (BDA) coordinated policy presentations, multi-stakeholder conversations and networking opportunities with government, labor, utility and industry partners.
BDC would also like to thank our tour hosts: Creative Energy, False Creek/City of Vancouver, Corix, Lulu Island Energy Company, the Musqueam Capital Corporation and SHARC.
The Delegation!
The delegation is all smiles up on the roof of the 15-story Paramount building, where they checked out massive air source heat pumps.
Representatives from UpgradeNY:
Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE)
Alliance for a Greater NY (ALIGN)
Building Decarbonization Coalition
Cornell Climate Jobs Institute
New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV)
Genium Government Relations representing the NYS Building and Construction Trades Council
UA Local 7, Plumbers and Steamfitters
Shenker Russo & Clark, representing the New York State UA
WE ACT for Environmental Justice
The New Yorkers were joined by:
National Capital Commission (Canada)
Building Decarbonization Alliance (Canada)
Peel Region of Ontario (Canada)
Puget Sound Energy (Washington State)
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