Welcome Our proposal for an updated and expanded Creative Energy Network provides an exciting opportunity for our growing city. As a valued Creative Energy customer and Vancouver resident, we want to provide you with important information about the future of your district energy system. Ensuring that you have up to date information and are able to ask questions about our proposal; your service is a critical part of our process. Thank you for taking the time to attend this Public Open House. The purpose of this Open House is to: Familiarize you with the project team; 2 Share our commitment to providing clean and reliable energy sources to you and the City of Vancouver; 3 Outline details around our proposal and how it may affect you; 4 Gather your feedback; and 5 Answer your questions. We look forward to your comments.
Creative Energy Creative Energy is building on existing energy infrastructure in Vancouver to create flexible, low carbon neighbourhood energy systems across the city. Creative Energy is a B.C. Utilities Commission-regulated neighbourhood energy utility that has provided clean and reliable neighbourhood energy from the 720 Beatty Street plant to downtown Vancouver since 968. This neighbourhood energy was created by a group of engineers who aimed to reduce the pollution created from heating buildings through individual heating plants. Creative Energy, previously called Central Heat, re-branded in 204. How Does Neighbourhood Energy Work: Creative Energy s neighbourhood energy system generates thermal energy in the form of steam or hot water from a central plant. The thermal energy is then distributed through a network of underground pipes to each individual building connected to its network to provide heating and hot water for the building. Where Neighbourhood Energy is Today: Creative Energy shares its resources with over 20 buildings - including major landmarks, residential towers, commercial office buildings, retail buildings, government buildings, and hotels in the downtown core. Why Do We Need Neighbourhood Energy: In a dense downtown neighbourhood, the Creative Energy system means there is only one central boiler system instead of over 20 individual boilers systems resulting in cleaner air, lower greenhouse gas emissions, long-term sustainability, and lower energy costs for a large portion of Vancouverites. Vancouver Convention Centre Andy Livingstone Park Pacific Centre Existing Steam Plant West Georgia Street Vancouver Public Library BC Place St. Paul s Hospital Cambie Street Bridge Creative Energy s Existing Pipe Network N Pipe Network Distributing Thermal Energy Neighbourhood energy is one of the lowest-cost, highest-reliability and most environmentallyfriendly sources of energy available to urban communities. Neighbourhood energy systems can be developed in a manner that best suits each specific community or neighbourhood and surrounding environment.
City of Vancouver Context The City of Vancouver has emphasized environmental sustainability through its policies to ensure that Vancouver becomes increasingly sustainable and resilient as it grows. Vancouver Growth Vancouver is a growing city, attracting people from the rest of the country and from all over the world. To accommodate current and future growth, the City of Vancouver has identified key areas for densification through thoughtful community planning. This includes the West End, North East False Creek and the Cambie Corridor among others. In anticipation of this growth, Creative Energy has targeted these areas for new and expanded neighbourhood energy systems. These energy systems can benefit communities through shared infrastructure and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. West End South East False Creek Flats North East False Creek Flats Chinatown False Creek Flats Greenest City Action Plan The City of Vancouver is committed to becoming the greenest city in the world. The Greenest City 2020 Action Plan is a strategic vision with the goal of creating green jobs, developing green buildings, reducing the city s carbon footprint, and recycling waste streams for energy, water, and landscaping uses. Creative Energy is working to develop innovative solutions to help Vancouver reach its greenest city goals: Creating more green jobs in Vancouver Working towards reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions by expanding their networks to encompass more buildings Providing Vancouverites with cleaner air
Site Context Positioned originally at the edge of the downtown core along Beatty Street and West Georgia Street, the area surrounding the Creative Energy plant has grown considerably in recent decades with high density development to the south, west, and north. Robson Street Smithe Street Vancouver Public Library Hamilton Street West Georgia Street Cambie Street Beatty Street Dunsmuir Street Site BC Place Stadium- Chinatown SkyTrain Pender Street Abbott Street Andy Livingstone Park Union Street Roundhouse Community Centre Coopers Park Plaza of Nations Ferry Dock Creekside Park Quebec Street Main Street SkyTrain Yaletown Ferry Dock Bus Stops
Creative Energy s Existing Challenges Today, much of our steam energy equipment is at the end of its useful life. 720 Beatty Street currently lacks back-up systems and any significant event a fire or earthquake, for example could cause significant damage and service interruption. Seismic Upgrades and Natural Disasters: The plant and equipment do not currently meet any modern seismic requirements. Safety: To resolve these existing challenges, Creative Energy is developing a proposal that will be submitted to the British Columbia Utilities Commission in the coming months. The two main components of the proposal include: The plant does not meet current building code requirements putting plant staff and the community in serious danger in any significant event. Step : Step 2: Construction of a new plant at the base of BC Place; and Upgrading and improving the existing 720 Beatty Street plant. Age of Equipment: Most of the plant equipment has exceeded its useful life and needs to be replaced.
Step : A New Plant at BC Place The first step toward a more resilient energy system is constructing a new steam plant at the eastern base of BC Place. Creative Energy intends to build a new plant at the base of BC Place. Along with the development of this new plant, we will construct interconnection lines back to the 720 Beatty Street pant where distribution to Creative Energy s network will still occur. This will create an interconnected system that will result in increased resiliency for the Creative Energy neighbourhood energy system. Splitting the production capacity of thermal energy among two plants will enhance the overall service reliability by reducing risk related to loss of gas or water during natural disasters, or any incident at the plant leading to a possible shutdown. Moreover, the split plant configuration allows equipment to be easily accessed for maintenance as well as necessary upgrades and replacement. Boiler Flutes extending from the plant N Plant Equipment Expo Boulevard Proposed Steam Plant: The proposed 840m 2 steam plant would be located where the fans that inflated the original BC Place were stored. This new plant could supply steam to half our customer base on the coldest day of the year. The new Plant at BC Place results in an annual greenhouse gas reduction of 6,500 tonnes annually - the equivalent of taking approximately,350 cars off of the road each year.
Step 2: Upgrading the 720 Beatty Street Plant Following the construction of the new plant at BC Place, Creative Energy intends to upgrade the plant at 720 Beatty Street as part of the proposed redevelopment of the site. The proposed redevelopment of 720 Beatty Street will encompass the existing plant and will create an architectural landmark at this important gateway into Downtown Vancouver. The intended upgrades to the existing plant will be undertaken during the construction of the proposed redevelopment. Proposal Components The proposed development includes the existing plant structure which will be seismically upgraded to current building code standards, fit out with new equipment as well as new retail space at grade, and office space above. We are still in the early concept stages of the redevelopment however, we have decided on the following principles to lead the project. Creation of Office Space in the Central Business District: the redevelopment of the existing plant will include new office space contributing to the Central Business District s policy for office space. Creative Energy s new offices will also be located here, in close proximity to both plants. 2 Public Realm Enhancement: beautify the public realm of this major gateway into the downtown peninsula. This major gateway will soon be further enhanced with the removal of the Georgia Street viaducts. 3 Energy Resiliency: seismic upgrades to the existing plant will allow heating and hot water service during and after a natural disaster, such as an earthquake 4 Pedestrian and Employee Safety: upgrades to the existing plant and equipment will ensure the safety of our employees and the community. 5 Green Building Leadership: the new building will incorporate various sustainability initiatives and principles that will contribute to the City of Vancouver s Greenest City Action Plan. 5 3 4 2 Retail Creative Energy Office
Maintaining A Safe and Resilient System We pride ourselves in providing 99.9% reliable steam delivery to customers over the last 40 years. Creative Energy is committed to ensuring neighbourhood energy can continue to provide reliable service for its customers. We want to see our systems become as resilient as possible, delivering service without interruption, which is the reason for this proposal. Our proposal will deliver an even higher level of service resiliency and safety. Fail-Safe Equipment Obtaining new equipment with sophisticated automatic fail-safes helps protect your services and allows us to maintain our equipment with readily available spare parts allowing Creative Energy to ensure continued operation of the equipment at its highest efficiency. Carbon Reduction In addition to new equipment protecting your services; newer equipment will increase efficiencies generating lower emissions. Distributed Generation Housing steam generation in two separate locations with separate equipment mitigates the risk of losing service if a significant event were to occur at either plant. A Safer Community Building code and seismic upgrades at the 720 Beatty Street plant creates a significantly safer building for plant staff and the community.
Frequently Asked Questions We expect you to have questions about how this proposal might affect your services. Why does the existing plant need to be upgraded? Much of the equipment in the existing plant has reached the end of life expectancy and needs to be updated to maintain safety and resiliency. Moreover, the plant is currently not seismically sound, and in the event of a natural disaster, service would be interrupted. Why do we need a new plant at BC Place? Our proposal suggests a new plant in BC Place to increase resiliency of our existing system. Splitting the production capacity among two plants enhances overall service reliability by reducing risk related to loss of gas or water, or any incident at the plant leading to shutdown and has a substantial positive impact on the environment. What changes will be occurring in the existing plant? The existing plant will be seismically upgraded and renovated. Hazardous materials and old equipment will be properly disposed of and replaced with up to date and more efficient equipment. During the development of the new plant and the upgrades to the existing plant, will there be service interruptions? There will not be service interruptions for our clients as the new plant at BC Place will be commissioned and complete before construction begins on the existing plant. Upon completion of the new plant at BC Place, work on the existing plant will begin and would be scheduled to end during an off-peak period such that there are no service interruptions.
Frequently Asked Questions We expect you to have questions about how this proposal might affect your services. Are there any risks in system reliability with this proposal? A new and updated plant means the continuation of reliable and safe energy services to your home. What is the approval process for this proposal? This proposal approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC). Our proposal will be submitted in 208. In addition to internal reviews, public input is a critical component of the BCUC process. We will then need to submit applications for permitting. Both processes can take anywhere from six to over twelve months, after which, we can start the upgrades and construction. When do you anticipate starting construction on the BC Place plant? We hope for construction on the BC Place plant to begin in late 208. Is there any update on the Fuel Switch? In June 207, Creative Energy submitted a Long Term Resource Plan with the Fuel Switching Study to the BCUC looking to pursue opportunities to develop the Fuel Switch Project, including seeking support for the project from all levels of government. The Commission adjourned the review and has directed Creative Energy to file semi-annual progress reports.
Proposed Timeline Public Discussions and Feedback 207 208 Application submission to BC Utilities Commission BCUC Application Review On-going following submission through to approval 208 208 BCUC Application Approval Work Commencing on the BC Place Plant 208 209 Construction complete at the new Creative Energy Plant at BC Place Upgrades Commencing on the 720 Beatty Street Plant 209 2022 Completed Work at 720 Beatty Street Plant
Creative Energy Share Your Thoughts Thank you for coming! We appreciate your attendance and your feedback. Please don t forget to fill out a comment form on your way out.