UBC opens C$34M wood-fuelled biomass CHP plantThe University of British Columbia officially opened a pioneering C$34-million clean energy facility, making it Canada’s first university – and one of a few institutions worldwide – to produce both clean heat and electricity for its campus from renewable bioenergy.UBC’s Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility (BRDF) will generate enough clean electricity to power 1,500 homes and will supply up to 12 percent of UBC’s heat requirements. It will reduce UBC’s natural gas consumption by 12 per cent and campus greenhouse gas emissions by 9 per cent (5,000 tonnes), the equivalent of taking 1,000 cars off the road. The facility, which runs on tree trimmings and wood chips diverted from local landfills, is a partnership with Nexterra Systems Corporation and GE. It is the first commercial demonstration of a new application that combines Nexterra’s gasification and syngas cleaning technologies with GE’s Jenbacher engines. UBC researchers, students and partners will use the first-of-its-kind facility to research, develop and evaluate bioenergy and other clean energies, processes and technologies. The four-storey, 1,900-square-metre facility is also the first North American commercial application of cross-laminated-timber (CLT), a solid wood building system adapted for B.C. lumber and manufactured in B.C. facilities. To view and download high-resolution photos of the facility, which was designed by McFarland Marceau Architects, click here.  | |
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