Enwave Energy Corporation has announced that it has commissioned the fourth intake expansion of its Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC) system in Toronto.

Working in partnership with Toronto Water, the company is using the expansion to provide more buildings, owners, and operators in the city with an opportunity to connect to its sustainable energy system.

Enwave began construction on its expansion of the DLWC system in 2021, which has been in existence for twenty years. The project includes a three-kilometre pipe into Lake Ontario, which draws in water at four-degree Celsius temperatures and transports it to Enwave’s John Street Energy Centre through a newly built tunnel that extends under the harbour.

The expansion has effectively increased its cooling capacity by 60 percent, with the capability of providing service to an additional 40 buildings.

“The expansion of our DLWC System is a significant milestone for both us and the city of Toronto,” said Enwave CEO Carlyle Coutinho. “This unique partnership directly supports Toronto’s ambitious strategy to reduce GHG emissions overall and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. We are proud to provide a system that contributes to these efforts in a meaningful way, while offering communities a viable path forward to reduce emissions, consumption and costs.”

Servicing more than 100 buildings in downtown Toronto, the DLWC is the world’s largest system of its kind, providing cooling to hospitals, commercial buildings, residential buildings, data centres, and entertainment venues.

With the expansion, Enwave’s DLWC System is estimated to save 220 million gallons (832 million litres) of water annually, and avoids over 60 megawatts of peak electrical demand from Ontario’s grid.

The DLWC system has been harnessed to create Enwave’s Green Heat program – an expansion and renewal of facilities which enables Enwave to provide low-carbon heat to the district energy grid servicing the city of Toronto’s downtown core.

Leveraging Toronto Water’s utility system, Enwave says the DLWC has become an integral part of TransformTO, the city’s Climate Action Strategy, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030.

“By expanding the Deep Lake Water Cooling System, Enwave is serving more people and cooling more buildings - while reducing emissions and helping us reach our climate goals,” said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. “The city is grateful for Enwave’s continued partnership in providing this innovative, sustainable and climate-friendly cooling technology for people in Toronto. We look forward to the continued success and growth of the Deep Lake Water Cooling System.”

The DLWC System expansion project is supported financially by a grant from Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Fund, Champions Stream and a $600-million loan commitment from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

The expansion is anticipated to be in service later this year.