Toronto hospital project harvests energy from wastewater
Construction is just beginning on what is being called the world’s largest raw wastewater energy-transfer project.
The $38-million project, which is being led by Bird Construction at Toronto Western Hospital, will see clean energy supplied to the hospital facility using recovered heat extracted from wastewater and the sewage system. This project aims to supply about 85 percent of the hospital's heating and cooling needs, helping it save on energy costs, and reducing its carbon emissions by a quarter of a million tonnes.
Toronto’s Noventa Energy Partners is supplying and delivering the system for the project. The company is a provider of proven, fully-engineered technology alternatives for heating and cooling buildings. It is also North America’s exclusive distributor of HUBER ThermWin technology, which harvests energy in raw municipal wastewater flowing through a sewer and converts it to useable building energy.
“Wastewater is an untapped renewable energy source that is underutilized in North America. With the potential to supply over 350 billion kilowatt-hours of low carbon thermal energy, wastewater energy transfer can be used to heat and cool our buildings to help us meet our climate change commitments,” said Dennis Fotinos, CEO of Noventa. “We are delighted to partner with University Health Network to deliver the largest raw wastewater energy transfer project in the world at Toronto Western Hospital. This is one of the first projects of this scale to use raw municipal wastewater from a sewer to provide low carbon heating and cooling to a building, and serves as a testament to what can be done if we are prepared to challenge convention and reimagine energy to build a more sustainable future for all.”
Noventa expects that over the next 30 years its wastewater energy transfer technology will supply 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours of energy to the hospital, reduce the hospital’s carbon dioxide emissions by 250,000 tonnes – the equivalent of taking over 1,800 cars off the road yearly, and save over 141 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, 130 million cubic meters of natural gas, and 1.3 billion litres of cooling water (the equivalent of 520 Olympic-sized swimming pools).
“University Health Network has long been a leader in healthcare environmental sustainability locally, nationally, and around the globe – which is why we’re excited to work with Noventa Energy Partners on the raw wastewater energy transfer project at Toronto Western Hospital,” said President and CEO Dr. Kevin Smith. “At UHN, we know climate change is a major threat to health. This technology allows us to lower greenhouse gas emissions and make our hospitals more resilient, while supporting our commitment to delivering A Healthier World.”
Ryerson University will work closely with Noventa and the University Health Network to conduct ongoing research, surveillance and wastewater sampling on the raw wastewater energy transfer project.
The project has secured funding from both the public and private sectors.
The Government of Canada will invest $3.3 million from its Low Carbon Economy Fund, while Vancity Community Investment Bank, a Canadian bank focused on supporting emerging and built environment climate solutions, will provide financing of $9 million.
Featured image: Noventa Energy Partners is retrofitting the Toronto Western Hospital with an energy-efficient system that harvests wastewater energy. (Noventa)