The University of British Columbia (UBC) opened a $34 million clean-energy facility September 13, making it Canada's first university to produce both heat and electricity from renewable bio-energy.
The Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility is described as "clean" because it runs on tree trimmings and wood chips diverted from local landfills. The project is a partnership between Nexterra Systems Corp. and General Electric (GE).
"This is a flagship example of UBC as a living laboratory, where researchers, staff, students and partners collaborate on innovations targeting the pressing challenges of our day," UBC president Stephen Toope said.
The facility will generate enough clean energy to power 1,500 homes and will supply up to 12% of UBC's heat requirements. It is expected to reduce UBC's natural gas consumption by 12% and campus greenhouse gas emissions by 9% – the equivalent of removing 1,000 from roads.
The four-storey, 20,500-square-foot facility is also the first North American commercial application of cross-laminated timber, which is a solid wood building system adapted for B.C. lumber and manufactured in B.C. facilities.
@GlenKorstrom
