Timeline

  • 2011
    Project Start
  • 2014
    DEU In Service
  • 2028
    Low-Carbon Energy Source
  • 2050
    Construction Completion

The Partnership

The City Centre District Energy Utility (CCDEU) project is a Public-Private Partnership between the City of Richmond’s Lulu Island Energy Company (LIEC) and Corix.

The partners aim to revolutionize low-carbon heating and cooling solutions through the development of the CCDEU for the City Centre area including the Oval Village, Capstan, Aberdeen and Brighouse neighbourhoods.

The Opportunity

Corix is helping advance the City of Richmond’s climate change strategy and meet its aggressive Community Energy and Emissions Plan goals by leveraging sewer heat recovery technology to provide low-carbon heating and cooling to the City Centre. The CCDEU has a projected GHG savings of one million tonnes by 2050, when compared to conventional energy sources.
The project will receive up to $175 million in project debt financing from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

The Solution

The CCDEU will serve as the backbone foor low-carbon energy provision for 170 new residential and mixed-use commercial development sites and 50 million sq. ft. of floor space at full build-out, estimated in 2050.

Buildings in the City Centre area will be required by development bylaws to connect to the DEU system if available, have mechanical systems that are “DE-Ready”, or contain their own on-site Low-Carbon Energy Plants (LCEPs).

Once the surrounding area has reached sufficient density, the DE-Ready buildings and LCEPs can be interconnected with the single, large-scale DEU providing the neighbourhoods with low-carbon thermal energy.

City Centre District Energy Utility After Solution Graphic

The Energy System

The future CCDEU energy plant will recover heat produced from wastewater from regional sewer mains located in the City Centre. This energy will be supplemented by air-source heat pumps (primarily used in LCEPs) and natural gas boilers for peak and back-up needs.

Building on the success of the existing Oval Village DEU (see details below), the CCDEU promises scalable, flexible, and sustainable energy solutions, aligning with Richmond’s long-term energy and sustainability objectives.

Oval Village DEU

Operational since 2014, the Oval Village DEU will form part of the larger City Centre DEU. Developed in collaboration with LIEC, Corix designed, financed, and continues to operate this adaptive and scalable energy network.

With a capacity of 19 MWt, the Oval Village DEU services 3.5 million sq. ft. of floor space across 24 buildings via three natural gas-fired Interim Energy Centres. The forthcoming sewer heat recovery plant, a key component of the City Centre DEU, aims to meet over 70% of Oval Village’s annual energy requirements from a low-carbon source.