ENERGY FUTURE ANNOUNCEMENT  BACKGROUNDER

Skidegate Band Council Project

• Project title: Haida Gwaii Clean Energy Project
• Project partners: Skidegate Band Council, Old Masset Village Council, NRStor, Atlantic Power 
• Fund: CERRC
• Project location: Moresby Lake, Haida Gwaii; Old Masset, Haida Gwaii
• Total project cost: $30.42 million over three years
• Funding from CERRC: $10.378 million over three years

Project summary
The Haida Gwaii Clean Energy Project seeks to transition the island to 100 percent renewable energy using a multi-phased approach. The Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program will fund Phase 1 of this project, which has two distinct stages. Local training programs as well as community energy literacy will be incorporated in each aspect of the project.

The first stage of the project will expand the 6 MW hydro generation asset at Moresby Lake through a dam raise, the construction of saddle dams and the commissioning of a previously installed 300 kW turbine. It will also incorporate a training and jobs program for ongoing maintenance of the MLGS transmission line.

The second stage seeks to deploy 2 MW of solar generation and energy storage following detailed siting work and a feasibility study. An interconnection study will be completed to ensure integration with the BC Hydro system, and detailed engineering, design and permitting will be completed.

Lastly, additional techno-economic studies will be conducted to determine potential for additional renewable energy technologies and grid optimization in order to achieve 100 percent renewable energy across Haida Gwaii. The Skidegate Band Council and the Old Massett Village Council have formed a partnership, Tll Yahda Energy, to initiate, develop and own renewable energy projects on Haida Gwaii. “Tll Yahda” conveys the Haida concept of “making it right.”

Esk’etemc First Nation

• Project title: Esk’etemc District Heating System Expansion and Wood Chip Supply Project
• Project partners: NRCan
• Fund: CERRC
• Project location: Alkali Lake, B.C.
• Funding from CERRC: $1,472,300
• Total project cost: $1,472,300

Project Summary
NRCan is providing an investment of more than $1.4 million for Esk’etemc First Nation to help them expand their wood-based biomass district heating system in Alkali Lake, B.C. The expansion will serve the community members by replacing propane heating in five local buildings: a fourplex housing unit, a multi-purpose band building, the church, the fire hall and the school gym. The community will also set up its own woodchip production operation to better control the cost of its wood fuel supply.

Carbon Upcycling Technologies, Inc.

• Project title: Carbon Nanoplatelet (CNP) Production from Exhaust CO₂ Emissions
• Project partners: COSIA Carbon X-Prize, Burnco Ready Mix Concrete, Lafarge-Holcim, Positec
• Fund: Energy Innovation Program
• Project location: Calgary, Alberta
• Total Project Value: $4.67 million
• EIP Funding: $2.45 million; amendment funding $1.5 million

Project summary
Phase I of this project saw the construction of a pilot demonstration facility that will capture CO₂ emissions and combine them with low-grade solid feedstock (e.g., derived from fly ash from coal power plants) to create exfoliated carbon nanoplatelets (CNPs). CNPs can be added to concrete mixes, which results in a concrete with enhanced compressive strength. The demonstration plant has a production target of 500kg of CNPs/month.

The pilot plant provides samples to initiate commercial sales of the product into existing concrete product lines, while helping to create successful market entry and direct sequestration and valorization of CO₂ emissions in Alberta. By upcycling fly ash, the technology facilitates the development of progressive regulations around higher cement displacement of cement with fly ash, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of new builds and retrofits.

Phase II of the project will include testing at the Alberta Carbon Conversion Test Centre (ACCTC) to progress to a full day of operations. All sub-segments of the integrated project system will be tested and undergo safety testing. Subsequently, the three-month operation of the integrated project will be achieved with over 80 percent operational uptime. Operation and testing reports confirming two tonne per day maximum capacity of production will be proven more than five times, as will be CO₂ capture of over 200 kilograms per day.

In Phase II Carbon Upcycling will create additives for the construction, polymers, lithium-ion battery additives for the energy storage and renewable energy industries using its proprietary, patent-pending mechano-chemical exfoliation process.

Qikiqtaaluk Properties Inc.

• Project title: Nunavut Arctic College Student Residence Deep Energy Retrofit
• Project partners: Nunavut Arctic College, Nunavut Nukkisautit Corporation
• Fund: Green Infrastructure
• Project location: Iqaluit, Nunavut
• Funding from Green Infrastructure: $2,057,000
• Total project cost: $4,370,000

Project Summary
The main objective of this project is to develop a deep energy retrofit of a four-storey, 42,900 sq. ft., 56-unit student residence for Nunavut Arctic College, targeting a 50 percent energy reduction in whole-building energy consumption.

Performance improvement will be confirmed through an extensive measurement and verification phase and compared with pre-retrofit benchmark data. The project aims to verify the affordability of, and create market confidence in, the methods and technologies of deep energy retrofits in Nunavut.

In the North, there is a greater emphasis on retrofit activity and improvements to existing buildings. Strategically, this project hopes to deliver lessons learned in terms of retrofit strategy. There are great opportunities to replicate this technology across the North, thereby benefiting Canadians.