Advancing district energy development in Canada : a process for site selection, review and community participation

Municipalities are giving greater consideration to the role of energy in the design, development, and operation of communities. Organizations and governments around the world are beginning to assess various energy risks beyond just the generation or delivery of energy. Municipalities planning for population growth no longer include only the potential increases in revenue from property taxes or the requirement to expand urban growth boundaries to accommodate new development. Energy planning requires an understanding of how communities can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and local energy consumption. This report presented the development of a process in order to assist decision makers, business leaders and local citizens in reviewing the role of energy in urban regions and how district energy (DE) can be part of the solution. The report presented an overview of the approach developed to identify 10 communities across Canada for the application of DE to assist with urban revitalization, brownfield remediation, community economic development, and sustainable energy conservation. The report outlined the development of an energy selection framework and how the framework could be replicated in urban regions to identify the interest in a community for DE. It was concluded that development of a DE system is complex and requires consideration for the interaction of land use policies and energy supply goals, the support of senior decision makers at the public and private level, an open dialogue between planners, engineers, utility operators and developers, as well as an informed and involved citizens. 3 tabs., 1 fig., 8 appendices