Client: Markham District Energy
Year: 1999 to Present
System Highlights
- International District Energy Association- System of the Year Award in 2013
- Fastest Growing District Energy Utility in Canada
- Net Zero 2050 Commitment
- >50km of Distribution Piping, >65 Energy Transfer Stations, > 14M ft² of Connected Customers
An Internationally Renowned, Award Wining District Energy System
Markham District Energy (MDE) is the fastest growing district energy utility and one of the few municipally-owned district energy utilities in Canada to have two systems operating within the same municipal border. The district energy system that serves the Markham Downtown Centre Development began operation on December 2000, making it North America’s first district energy system to combine the use of hot water for heating, chilled water for cooling, and combined heat and power (CHP). The system provides district energy to all new buildings in downtown Markham. The success of MDE’s downtown system led to the formation of another District Energy system at the Markham Stouffville Hospital, where MDE provides all the hot water, chilled water, steam and backup power of the hospital and surrounding office and community buildings.
In 2019, MDE issued their energy reduction roadmap which targets net-zero energy emission in Markham in the year 2050 through reduced energy, efficiency gains and conservation. FVB was tasked with studying all available options to decarbonize downtown Markham through fuel switching of existing MDE assets and implementing new low carbon assets to pick up the unprecedented growth of downtown Markham. The results of this study, along with various levels of financing and grant funding, led to the implementation of multiple low carbon projects such as the 4MWt Heat Recovery Chillers, 500 kWt Pellet Boiler and the world’s largest (18.75MWt!) sewer heat recovery project. These projects will help MDE achieve over 35,000 tonnes of GHG savings annually and signify the first phase of decarbonizing Markham Centre.
To help make this possible, the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), MDE and CIBC, partnered for a large-scale investment to expand clean energy projects in the City of Markham. Under the agreement, the CIB and CIBC are each investing $135 million. The financing supports MDE’s expansion plans to serve new customers in the City’s rapidly growing urban centres while accelerating MDE’s objective of achieving net-zero emissions.
FVB Energy has been MDE’s Owner’s engineer and design consultant the entire way. From the very first feasibility study conducted in 1998, to winning the IDEA System of the Year in 2013, to where they stand today as the fastest growing DE utility in North America; FVB and MDE have remained committed to the development of a sustainable and profitable district energy utility. Through this relationship, we have both been able to grow and learn from an operations and a design perspective. Being connected to a system from planning, to implementation, to maturity, and ultimately to modernization has resulted in an immense amount of knowledge and lessons learned that we lean upon when developing new district energy opportunities.
FVB is currently working with Markham District Energy to design the worlds largest Wastewater Energy Transfer System (18.75 MW), both utilizing untreated wastewater from an adjacent trunk sewer.
More Information
Visit Markham District Energy
Keywords
Owner’s Engineer, Wastewater Energy Transfer System, System Profile, Decarbonization, Fuel Switching, Municipality, MDE