Expanded sewage heat recovery boosts energy resilience, independence at Vancouver's False Creek

The False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility (NEU) received a $1.5-million grant and a $10.1-million loan from GMF to expand its existing sewage heat recovery (SHR) system in downtown Vancouver. The investment will reduce reliance on fossil fuels, improve system resilience against extreme weather and fuel supply disruptions, and support local economic development. The expansion will restore the utility's 70% renewable energy target, dramatically improve the system's energy efficiency, and cut potable water consumption for sewage filtration and equipment cleaning by 97%, conserving 42,700 cubic metres of water per year. 

NEU had already been in operation for a decade, supplying heating and hot water to 5.4 million square feet of residential, commercial and institutional space, when it set out to expand its operation. The system already had three megawatts of SHR capacity, but had gradually become more dependent on natural gas boilers as its customer base increased by 300% between 2010 and 2018. 

With sewage heat still meeting 44% of the community's thermal demand, a feasibility study identified an expanded SHR system as the most cost-effective way to increase the utility's renewable energy production. The expansion project will reduce natural gas consumption at the False Creek Energy Centre by 56% by replacing gas boilers with ultra efficient heat pumps -a major step toward reaching 100% renewable energy over time. 

Photo by Brett Ryan Studios. Courtesy of the City of Vancouver