While my electricity comes to me via the large utility called BC Hydro, my heat and hot water is provided by a much smaller utility called Lonsdale Energy Corporation. This community energy system currently services buildings in the dense core of the City of North Vancouver.
When my partner and I were condo-shopping in the area several years ago, we were both drawn to the notion of in-floor radiant heating via hot water, rather than less efficient heating systems like electric baseboard or gas furnaces. Lonsdale Energy specializes in just this form of heating buildings.
What we thought was a more environmentally friendly method of keeping warm in the winter turned out to be less green in reality, though. Lonsdale Energy relies on large gas boilers on the back end to heat up the water and circulate it out to the 110 or so buildings that use it. They’ve been tasked with substantially decarbonizing their energy production, but even very small utilities like Lonsdale Energy have a difficult time turning on a dime when they have already invested quite a bit into existing infrastructure.
So this summer’s announcement from them that “cleaner energy is coming to North Vancouver” was certainly a welcome one. But how? Solar power? Maybe. The city faces south, and basks in sunlight much of the year thanks to the Burrard Inlet creating space between North Vancouver and the tall skyline of Vancouver itself.
Capturing excess heat from bitcoin data centers? A few years ago it was earnestly discussed, but interest has flagged significantly due to public ambivalence about cryptocurrency and data centers generally.
The idea that has won the day is in fact capturing heat from raw sewage. Thanks to a $17.5 million grant from the federal and provincial governments, the Lonsdale Energy Urban Heat Recovery Centre is beginning construction now, with completion scheduled for December 2027.
This technique is not new or unique. There are comparable community energy systems in Vancouver, Toronto, and many places in Europe. But it is definitely a first for the City of North Vancouver. In upcoming posts, I will discuss specifics about how it will work, what I like about it, and what I’m worried about.
Because here’s the thing: the new energy centre is being constructed about a hundred yards away from where I live. Will it be noisy? Will it stink? Is there any spill risk to my beloved creek running just between us?
Will I swing to NIMBY on this project (Not-In-My-Back-Yard)? Or can I get to YIMBY?
