Regulatory
LOW-CARBON Energy for TODAY AND FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
RDE is a privately owned, regulated utility overseen by the British Columbia Utilities Commission. This means that our business plan, projects, tariff and rates are reviewed and approved by the regulator, whose mandate is to ensure customers receive safe, reliable energy at fair prices.
River District Energy has started work to connect to Metro Vancouver’s Waste-to-Energy Facility through a closed-loop hot water system. The system would use the waste heat to displace almost all of River District’s need for natural gas to provide space heating and hot water.
The New System: What to Expect
In partnership with Metro Vancouver, we are proposing that they will install a heat-exchanger at their Waste-to-Energy Facility in Burnaby. The system will provide offsite heating by extracting the waste heat from the incineration of the region’s waste, and using it to heat water in a closed-loop piping system (i.e. the water in the pipe is always contained in the pipe and does not come in contact with anything outside the pipe).
Innovative Fuel Switch Project
Metro Vancouver’s Waste-to-Energy Facility will provide enough waste heat to replace almost all of our natural gas needs. As a result, we’re constructing a new Community Energy Centre that will use this waste heat and replace all existing temporary energy centres.
Community Energy Centre
The Community Energy Centre, situated at the junction of East Sawmill Crescent and Marine Way, will be constructed using materials that have minimal environmental impact. With a purpose that is in line with the values of the community, the energy centre contains the necessary equipment to collect heat from Metro Vancouver and distribute it to all of River District.
Why Waste Heat-Recovery?
By collecting the heat and putting it to use, we are increasing the overall efficiency of our waste management system. This process of using previously wasted heat will allow us to cut our greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 90%.
For further details please read our Discussion Guide.
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