6 million sq. ft.
of connected floor space at buildout
19.5 MWt
plant capacity
4 KM
distribution piping system
biomass with natural gas for peaking and backup
Heating Burnaby Mountain since 2012
Corix has been providing heat and hot water to portions of the UniverCity community since 2012. The Burnaby Mountain District Energy Utility (BMDEU) serves SFU’s Burnaby campus and the UniverCity residential community by harnessing locally sourced wood waste, such as wood chips, shavings, and clean urban construction wood waste.
Local Wood Waste, Global Impact for the BMDEU
The BMDEU is scorching its sustainability goals. Since its completion in 2020, BMDEU has decreased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with an annual GHG savings of 12,000 tCO2e/year. SFU’s Burnaby campus carbon footprint has been reduced by 85%, exceeding SFU’s provincially-mandated goal of a 40% reduction of GHG emissions by 2025 — way ahead of schedule.
The BMDEU has achieved these milestones by leveraging low-carbon energy sources via district energy.
District energy systems are a way of centralizing mechanical equipment to share energy efficiently across multiple buildings. They’re a powerful tool in reducing carbon emissions.
FAQ
Biomass is organic matter that comes primarily from plants. The biomass fuel source utilized at the Burnaby Mountain Renewable Energy Centre is locally sourced wood waste, such as wood chips, shavings, and urban and clean construction wood waste that is diverted from Metro Vancouver landfills.
A local supplier in the Lower Mainland provides the biomass fuel.
A local supplier delivers the biomass to the facility. A fuel conveyor then brings the biomass to the combustion cells, where it combusts with the addition of air, resulting in hot gas. Next, the hot gas heats the thermal oil. The thermal oil heats hot water, which is distributed to customers, providing safe, reliable heat and hot water for the campus and community.
The combustion gases pass through two stages of advanced cleaning, filtering out virtually all remaining particulate matter — exceeding strict Metro Vancouver emission mandates. The system recovers excess heat from the gas and reuses it, increasing its efficiency.
A mixture of smoke and steam leaves the plant through the stacks. State-of-the-art monitoring technology and continuous reporting systems incorporated in the Renewable Energy Centre ensure the facility meets Metro Vancouver’s air quality standards, which are among the most stringent in the world.
Our customers expect reliability. Corix uses advanced monitoring technology called SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) to monitor, gather and process real-time data for our local and remote operations.
The system sensors provide constant updates about the equipment, allowing the team to identify and troubleshoot issues immediately and mitigate or prevent downtime for our customers. Our systems have built-in redundancy, so they can continue to operate using backup sources and equipment.
Our Commitment to Reconciliation
Corix acknowledges that the Burnaby Mountain DEU lies on the unceded Traditional Territories of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm, Stó:lō, Qayqayt, Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, Squamish, and Stz’uminus Nations. Learn more about our Canadian Indigenous Relations.