Client: City of Mississauga
Year: 2021 to present
Project Highlights
- District Energy would achieve 88% reduction in GHG emissions
- The project is now in detailed feasibility design stage
- Phase 1A: 1.2 million ft2; Full Build-Out: 32.3 million ft2
- Phase 1A: Heating Load: 28.6 MMBH Cooling Load: 1,800 tons
- Phase 1A: 180 borehole geo-exchange system (3 MW heating)
Pre-Feasibility Study of a low-carbon District Energy System in Ontario’s third largest city
As a strategy to reach their goal of 80% greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction by 2050, as stated in their 2019 Climate Change Action Plan, the City of Mississauga plans to supply 75% of the community’s energy needs through low carbon sources. One of the first actions was to conduct a feasibility study in the downtown for community and municipal buildings to advance the low-carbon energy systems in in the City of Mississauga’s Downtown.
FVB has developed a low carbon DES concept based on existing buildings and the forecasted new development in Mississauga’s Downtown over approximately 30 years to 2050 – a period that could see upwards of 3 million m² (30 million ft²) of development. FVB recommended that the buildout of the DES take place over six major phases, with each phase taking approximately five years.
Three scenarios were considered to evaluate the benefit of a low carbon DES:
- Business-as-Usual (BAU) Standalone: Buildings remain disconnected from a DES and are heated and cooled with their own stand-alone system.
- Low Carbon Standalone: Buildings remain disconnected from a DES and are heated and cooled with their own standalone system. The Low Carbon scenario assumes that new buildings would be constructed to progressive Green Development Standards over the duration of the study period.
- Low Carbon DES: Buildings are connected to a DES. The demand and energy of the buildings, as well as their emission targets, are the same as in the Low Carbon Standalone; however, the DES allows for increased system diversification, which reduces the total peak demand.
It was proposed that at full buildout, the low carbon DES would consist of geo-exchange, sewer heat recovery, electric boilers, natural gas boilers, and centrifugal chillers with associated cooling towers. This combination allows for a significant decrease in GHG emissions for the existing buildings, including the municipal buildings, while being financially competitive with current and future building standards. Thermal energy would be delivered from five (5) energy centres at full build out through a four-pipe distribution piping system (DPS). Each building would be connected to this distribution system indirectly through an Energy Transfer Station (ETS).
The first energy centre would be constructed to serve Phase 1A and would include a ~180 borehole geo-exchange system capable of providing 10.2 MMBH of heating capacity and 460 tons of cooling capacity. Additionally, boilers, chillers, and power generation systems would be installed to provide peaking capacity, system redundancy, and back-up power capabilities. As the system expands, additional geo-exchange systems as well as sewer heat recovery systems would be installed and interconnected to achieve the desired GHG emission targets.
Geoexchange is proposed to be installed beneath the new energy centre and in a municipal park. FVB has furthered the design of Phase 1A, which is currently being reviewed by the City.
FVB also provided an educational component to this project, both through public engagement sessions facilitated by The Planning Partnership, but also by leading site visits to Energy Centres operating in the GTA so that all stakeholders could evaluate the project from a base of solid understanding of District Energy.
FVB Scope of Work:
- Technical Analyses
- District Energy System – Conceptual Design
- Financial Modelling
- Informational and Educational Sessions for the City
More Information
Visit City of Mississauga
Keywords
Community Energy, Decarbonization, Feasibility Study, GHG Reduction