Communities taking a new, greener approach
Sustainable Peterborough showcases local best practices on climate change action
On Nov. 29, representatives from the municipalities and First Nations within the Greater Peterborough Area came together to celebrate significant advances in the battle to reduce the greenhouse gases (GHG) causing climate change. The Climate Change Action Plan Training Session, facilitated by Kaitlyn Ittermann, climate change action plan implementation co-ordinator and held in Bridgenorth Community Hall, highlighted some of our municipal best practices. The following are just some examples, not even the full story.
Scott Warren, facilities maintenance manager for Selwyn Township, described how new technology Real Ice, installed in the Ennismore arena, allows the ice to be made using cold water rather than the hot water previously required to remove air bubbles. This saves about $12,000 per year in energy costs and the corresponding greenhouse gases. The payback period for this new technology application is just two years, whereas the savings continue for many years. This savings is equivalent to the cost of one high usage month worth of electricity per year.
Tyler Peters, Evergreen consultant, described the plans for DouroDummer Township’s new combined public works and fire station in Warsaw. It is based on a net-zero energy design: the building envelope and insulation are so good that the energy supplied by the building’s solar panels and wastewood furnace equals the propane and electrical energy used over the course of a year. This is one of the first municipal operations facilities in rural Ontario which will be net-zero energy. The building is expected to save Douro-Dummer $50 million over the 60-year life of the building, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions over this entire time.
Lois O’Neill-Jackson, CAO of Trent Lakes, reported on several innovations. These included construction of a low-energy, LEEDequivalent municipal building; using “tier-4” engines in heavy diesel equipment which reduces their NOx emissions (a greenhouse gas) by about 37 per cent and their particulate emissions by over 90 per cent. Trent Lakes is proud of their waste reduction programs, particularly the introduction of clear bags for garbage collection, which reduced landfill waste by a staggering 34 per cent.
Sheridan Graham and Randy Mellow, from Peterborough County, discussed the installation of solar panels on a test ambulance to help recharge the batteries to reduce idling time. The vehicles must have fully charged batteries at all times to ensure their equipment is functioning properly and the vehicle internal temperature remains warm. The solar panels have reduced idling time dramatically for the test vehicle, saving about $3,000 per year, which provides a payback period of just a year and reduces greenhouse gases by about 850 kg per vehicle per year.
Amber Atkinson and Brian McMillan of Havelock-BelmontMethuen township described the installation of variable-frequency-drive motors on water and wastewater facilities. These motors have a lower maintenance cost and resulted in a 27.5per cent decrease in electricity consumption in a year.
Finally, Ronald Awde, consultant, described the new LEEDstandard Hiawatha First Nation Emergency Service Building, part of the Otonabee-South Monaghan Fire Department. Having the fire and rescue Station and the police station share a single building results in major savings in both construction and operating costs and energy, with the associate reductions in greenhouse gases.
Melanie Kawalec, sustainability manager with the City of Peterborough, discussed energy conservation demand management plans and then led a round table discussion on the projects each of the municipalities had applied for, through the Municipal GHG Challenge Fund.
The City of Peterborough has applied for a city-wide SourceSeparated Organics Collection with a Public/Private Partnership for Processing Organics as well as an LED Streetlight Retrofit Project. Sustainable Peterborough is also investigating hiring an energy manager to assist businesses in the Greater Peterborough Area to retrofit their facilities to conserve energy, through funding from the IESO which operates the electrical system in Ontario.
The good news story is that our local municipalities and First Nations are innovative and progressive in their thinking and actions, and have reduced both operating costs and greenhouse gases substantially. The challenge is that 2017 will experience the largest global release of greenhouse gases ever! We have less than five years to begin reducing these total emissions to avoid the worst effects of climate change. House heating and motorized transportation are the biggest greenhouse gas sources in most of our local municipalities. It will take the individual contributions from all of us, insulating our houses, walking more or using city transit or carpooling, to save the world we want for our children and grandchildren.
Alan Slavin is a retired Trent University physics professor, and is a member of the Community Climate Change Working Group of Sustainable Peterborough. He is a member of For Our Grandchildren (Peterborough).