FVB Down Under! – District Energy in Barangaroo

FVB Down Under! – District Energy in Barangaroo

April 5, 2013

When the engineers at a large Australian development and engineering firm, needed an expert opinion for the design of a large District Energy Plant serving Sydney’s central business district’s new  development – Barangaroo South, they turned to FVB Energy as an international district energy expert to conduct a peer review of the design. The objective of the review was to advise on whether the design could exceed international district energy industry best practices, particularly for efficiency, reliability and ease of operation and maintenance, and suggestions that would further improve expected performance.
The Barangaroo development is a new commercial district comprising of:
* 275,000 m2 of new high and low rise commercial office space,
* 25,000 m2 of mixed use retail, fast food and restaurants,
* 30,000 m2 of hotels and apartments,
* 140,000 m2of high and low rise apartments,
* 60,000 m2 of basement car park, docks and plant areas.

FVB is proud to have been part of this community development project that puts sustainability first.  Barangaroo’s District Energy System will primarily be cooled by sea water from the Sydney Harbour, reducing their electrical demand and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions.

District Energy can Reduce Infrastructure Costs and Environmental Burdens

March 12, 2013

District Energy Systems (DES) are increasing in popularity but their economic viability is usually analyzed narrowly in terms of capital costs and energy savings to the customer and revenues to the utility provider. Traditional feasibility analyses of District Energy Systems do not recognize the economic benefits to municipalities and regional governments. By having a DES, electricity demand during peak times can be reduced. A reduced demand means fewer electrical peaking stations will need to be built thereby saving regional governments substantial sums in infrastructure costs. Another noteworthy benefit is the cost of storm water retention. DES is an enabler of storm water retention technologies. By using DES rather than a traditional rooftop mechanical room, space is made for water retention technologies that could not otherwise be built. By reducing the amount of water flowing from a building site, municipalities reduce the risk of sewer overflows and can reduce the infrastructure required for storm water containment. Lastly, a DES produces thermal energy on a large scale and is technology neutral. The nature of DES allows for fuel diversity and flexibility. Should the cost of any one type of fuel increase dramatically in price, DESs have the ability to switch sources with minimal investment. DESs will allow municipalities to ensure their communities will be able to maintain reasonable fuel costs and a high standard of living. None of these economic benefits are included in current feasibility analyses yet they can be substantial. If these factors were included, the economic case for DES would be made quite easily and communities could then benefit from the reduced carbon footprint for their heating and cooling. This makes a compelling case for municipalities to support DES in their communities or legislate building connections to District Energy System.

Read the entire paper:

How District Energy Systems can be used to Reduce Infrastructure Costs

 

FVB’s new QUEST

February 26, 2013

FVB Energy is a proud supporter of QUEST—Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow. QUEST just held its sixth annual conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was the organization’s largest event held to date in Canada, attracting more than 200 delegates from major northern climates such as the United States, China, Sweden and from all across Canada. IDEA was a major sponsor of the event, and IDEA President and CEO Rob Thornton gave a great presentation on how district energy delivers efficiency and resiliency to local economies.

IDEA is joining forces with QUEST to help lead Canadian cities to become some of the most sustain-able communities in the world. We believe that we can help QUEST in its efforts. District energy systems are often more efficient than standalone boilers and chillers due to their size, helping improve efficiency. Energy is optimized because low-grade waste heat from factories or electricity production can be reused for heating due to our thermal grids.

By joining forces, IDEA and QUEST can become a formidable voice for our cities and our environment. QUEST is committed to making integrated community energy solutions the preferred way of doing business for new development and redevelopment in every community in Canada. IDEA wants to help QUEST make that a reality.

Both FVB and IDEA will be supporting QUEST’s upcoming conference in Markham, Ont., home of arguably one of Canada’s most successful district energy systems. It is an opportunity to showcase to Canadians the benefits of district energy. No doubt the city of Markham will be touting its business attractiveness and how its district energy system convinced major companies to set up shop locally.

I hope you will join us in Markham Nov. 12-14, 2013, at the Hilton Toronto/Markham Suites Conference Centre & Spa for this event, held in partnership with the city of Markham, Markham District Energy Inc. and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

~ Richard Damecour,
CEO, FVB Energy

Image of Richard Damecour a chief executive officer for the FVB Energy executive leadership team.