How Ottawa is modernising its 100-year-old energy system
Summary
Even at 95oC, a lot of retrofitting is required in the buildings, with new piping systems, radiators, and district heating stations,” Jim Manson explains. However, the government has decided that they currently prefer electricity-based solutions over biomass in the Ottawa energy system, so the focus has been on heat pumps and electric boilers, at least initially. In the modernisation that is now taking place, we are planning for the systems to be able to be expanded to supply significantly more customers, such as hospitals and commercial buildings. On the other hand, this means that there is cost-saving potential and thus good opportunities to be able to offer competitive district heating and district cooling in the long term.” FVB is also advising on commercialisation and believes that the first step the government should take is to transfer ownership to a separate entity that is still owned by the state but is more independent. “It’s a very inspiring project and when we present what we are doing at conferences and to potential customers, we can show what opportunities there are for other cities.” “We have noticed that several cities in North America have serious ambitions when it comes to reducing their climate footprint and our knowledge can be very beneficial there, so I hope that we can participate in these projects by applying what we are learning from Ottawa,” Manson concludes.