Neighbourhood Energy Utility

Leading the way with adaptability, renewable energy and innovation

The Southeast False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility (NEU) is an environmentally-friendly community energy system that provides space heating and domestic hot water to all new buildings in Southeast False Creek (SEFC), including but not limited to the Olympic Village.

The NEU provides the following environmental, economic and social benefits:

Environmental Benefits: The NEU has economies of scale and flexible infrastructure that can adapt to using a wide variety of renewable “waste energy” options that would otherwise not be available to an individual building heating system. Through its high system efficiencies and by using sewage heat recovery to supply approximately 70% of the annual energy demand, the NEU eliminates over 50% of the carbon emissions associated with the heating of buildings. In addition, the LEED™ buildings connected to the NEU further minimise energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions using high quality building envelope design and hot water radiant heating systems. Furthermore, the NEU utilizes surplus energy generated by solar thermal modules located on the roof tops of three Olympic Village buildings.
Social Benefits: Through the NEU’s use of renewable energy sources and flexibility to adapt to future energy technologies, it is anticipated that NEU customers will enjoy rate stability that outperforms conventional options. Also, the NEU supports the use of radiant hot water heating systems in buildings that provide customers with a higher level of comfort at a lower energy use, as compared to conventional space heating options. In addition,the NEU eliminates heat production equipment from SEFC buildings, creating more space for green roofs and reducing maintenance for building owners.
Economic Benefits: The NEU is a self-funded utility that will provide return on investment to the City’s tax payers, while at the same time providing competitive rates to NEU customers. The NEU helps building developers meet the energy efficiency and green building requirements for SEFC more cost effectively as compared to the use of distributed stand-alone green energy options, such as geo-exchange.

For further information, please see the following links:

NEWS UPDATE:

Jan. 22, 2010 - Real-time energy savings of the Southeast False Creek Olympic Village and NEU are now being monitored, along with other Olympic venues as part of the Venue Energy Tracker project. View press release.
Jan. 14, 2010 - The Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of State (Sport), Margaret MacDiarmid, MLA for Vancouver-Fairview, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, and Marvin Hunt, Surrey City Councillor and member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ National Board of Directors, officially ‘flipped the switch’ on the False Creek Energy Centre. Sewage heat recovery is now the primary source of energy for the NEU Media release.
Nov. 17, 2009 - The False Creek Energy Centre is now supplying heat to the Olympic Village and two additional SEFC buildings using a high efficiency natural gas peaking/backup boiler. As a result of this a steam plume is visible next to the Cambie Street Bridget rising from the False Creek Energy Centre stacks.
The sewage heat recovery system commissioning is underway. Once commissioning is complete, the sewage heat recovery system will be supplying most of the NEU’s energy, and use of the natural gas peaking boilers will be reduced significantly
December 2009 - The NEU was featured by the Magazine of the American Planning Association
October 2009 - The NEU was profiled in by the Challenge Series online book
March 2009 - The Southeast False Creek and NEU projects were profiled in Innovation Magazine
The NEU was profiled in the Third Quarter 2008 Issue of District Energy Magazine.

For more information, please contact Chris Baber, NEU Project Manager at 604.871.6127 or by email.