Post on 03-Feb-2022
Implementing Integrated Community Energy
Solutions (ICES): Building Partnerships for District
Energy
FCM Sustainable Communities Conference, Ottawa
Friday, February 10th, 2012
Yellowknife’s Proposed
Community Energy
System
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
Learning from our Past: A Brief History of
Yellowknife
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
Planning Our Energy Future: 2004 Baseline
$113 million annually
GHG Emissions:
2 times the per capita national average
Our Energy Use:
15% Electricity
15% Transportation
70% Space Heating
20% increase in energy use by 2015
under a business as usual scenario
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
Planning Our Energy Future:
Highlights From Yellowknife’s Community Energy Plan
New energy efficient building standards: EGNH-80 for
new home construction; 25% more energy efficient than
the Model National Energy Code for commercial and
multi-family buildings
Greening of Municipal Operations: Energy audits of all
municipal facilities
Increased use of renewable energy: Biomass Heating
Strategy; Mine Geothermal District Heating System
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
Con Mine Community Energy System
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
System Components and Decision-Making Process
Production and Injection
Wells; Mine Water
Station; Energy Centre
(Heat Pumps & Boilers -
Wood Pellet & Oil);
Distribution Piping;
Building Connections
Business Case:
Technical Assessment;
Economic Review;
Institutional Review
Environmental
Regulatory Process:
Preliminary Screening;
Environmental
Assessment
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
Challenges
Retrofit scenario
Complexity
Capital cost
Power rates
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
Social, Environmental and Economic Benefits
Indicator Benefit
Economic • Reduced fuel price volatility
• $26 million of costs spent on local labour
• 260-300 person-years of direct construction jobs
• 100 indirect and induced jobs
• 5 full time operator / admin jobs
• Develop biomass supply industry locally
• Additional hydro-electric capacity (additional jobs)
• Hedge against future carbon pricing
Environmental • 85-95% GHG emission reductions of buildings
connected (displacing 6.7 million litres of fuel oil)
• Improved local air quality
Social • Affordable housing
• Boost community profile
• Positive mining legacy
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
The Referendum
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
Business Structure - Process
In April 2011, the City of Yellowknife entered into an MOU with Corix
Utilities to develop the proposed Con Mine Community Energy
System (CES).
The MOU is a framework to guide negotiations toward formal
business arrangements.
Currently, Corix is undertaking preliminary design.
In parallel with preliminary design, the City and Corix are negotiating
an agreement that will formalize business arrangements between
the two entities.
Business arrangements are expected to be finalized in June 2012.
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
Major Project Milestones (Tentative)
Establish City Subsidiary
Corporation
(December 2011)
Finalize CES Preliminary Design and
Cost Estimates
(March 2012)
Corix Agreement Finalized
(June 2012)
Begin Construction (Fall 2012)
Phase 1 Commercial Operation
(2013/14)
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
Business Structure
Corix will design, build, finance and operate the CES.
The City will retain legal title to all CES assets.
Corix would generate thermal energy and sell it to a City-owned subsidiary under a
heat supply contract.
The thermal energy price would incorporate all of Corix’s costs to develop and
operate the system, including a reasonable return on capital.
The City-owned subsidiary would sell thermal energy to end users and retain rate
setting and utility governance authority.
The NWT Public Utilities Board (PUB) would directly regulate the relationship
between the City-owned subsidiary and customers to ensure fairness for ratepayers.
The business relationship between the City-owned subsidiary and Corix would likely
not be directly regulated. However, the PUB will likely want to review and approve the
heat supply contract between the City-owned subsidiary and Corix to assess costs
and capital structure for reasonableness.
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
Business Structure - Schematic
Today’s Opportunity for Tomorrow’s Future
Thank You!
Email: mheyck@yellowknife.ca
Website: www.yellowknife.ca