Toronto, April 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Noventa Energy Partners (Noventa) has announced the delivery of the world’s largest raw wastewater energy transfer project at Toronto Western Hospital. The $38 million project, funded in part by the Government of Canada and financed by Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB), will generate enough thermal energy using raw municipal wastewater from a sewer to supply 90% of the hospital’s heating and cooling requirements, reducing its carbon emissions by a quarter of a million tonnes.
“Wastewater is an untapped renewable energy source that is underutilized in North America. With the potential to supply over 350 billion kilowatt-hours of low carbon thermal energy, wastewater energy transfer can be used to heat and cool our buildings to help us meet our climate change commitments,” said Dennis Fotinos, CEO of Noventa. “We are delighted to partner with University Health Network to deliver the largest raw wastewater energy transfer project in the world at Toronto Western Hospital. This is one of the first projects of this scale to use raw municipal wastewater from a sewer to provide low carbon heating and cooling to a building, and serves as a testament to what can be done if we are prepared to challenge convention and reimagine energy to build a more sustainable future for all.”
Noventa will use patented HUBER ThermWin®️ technology (for which it is the exclusive North American distributor) – and its own proprietary DFSCTM process – to harvest the energy in raw municipal wastewater flowing through a sewer, to provide the hospital with a source of clean, renewable energy. Over the next 30 years, Noventa’s wastewater energy transfer technology is expected to:
- supply 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours of energy to the hospital, or approximately 90% of the hospital’s space heating and cooling requirements.
- reduce the hospital’s carbon dioxide emissions by 250,000 tonnes – the equivalent of taking over 1,800 cars off the road yearly.
- save over 141 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, 130 million cubic meters of natural gas, and 1.3 billion litres of cooling water (the equivalent of 520 Olympic-sized swimming pools)
Ryerson University will be working closely with Noventa and the University Health Network to conduct ongoing research, surveillance and wastewater sampling on the raw wastewater energy transfer project.
The project has secured funding from both the public and private sectors. The Government of Canada will invest $3.3 million from its Low Carbon Economy Fund, while VCIB – a subsidiary of Vancity Group and the only Canadian bank focused on supporting emerging and built environment climate solutions under $50 million – will provide financing of $9 million. In January 2021, Vancity Group announced its climate commitments, including an ambitious target to make Vancity net-zero across all of its mortgages and loans by 2040.
Marci Ien, Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre, said: “The Government of Canada is pleased to support innovative projects that reduce emissions and create good jobs. Today’s announcement highlights some of the important work Canadian businesses, like Noventa Energy Partners Incorporated, are doing to help build a cleaner, healthier future. It’s leadership and good projects like the one announced today that will help Canada exceed its 2030 Paris Agreement target and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.”
John Tory, the Mayor of the City of Toronto, said: “This new wastewater project in Toronto is a great initiative that focuses on the need to address climate change in our everyday lives. I want to thank everyone involved in this project that uses innovative technology to help lower our carbon emissions. My hope is that the success of this project will see us implementing similar technologies and initiatives across the city as we continue to meet our climate change goals.”
Vince Gasparro, Managing Director of Corporate Development and Clean Energy Finance at VCIB said: “VCIB is at the forefront of financing clean energy projects across the country, which includes supporting lesser-known technologies like the raw wastewater project delivered by Noventa. It is exactly this type of project that will make a difference in our fight against the climate crisis, while at the same time creating good, long-term jobs for Torontonians and Canadians alike. We’re therefore delighted to partner with Noventa on this innovative project to accelerate Canada’s transition towards a net-zero economy.”
Dr. Kevin Smith, President & CEO at University Health Network, said: “University Health Network has long been a leader in healthcare environmental sustainability locally, nationally, and around the globe – which is why we’re excited to work with Noventa Energy Partners on the raw wastewater energy transfer project at Toronto Western Hospital. At UHN, we know climate change is a major threat to health. This technology allows us to lower greenhouse gas emissions and make our hospitals more resilient, while supporting our commitment to delivering A Healthier World.”
Further details on the technology and project can be viewed via an informational video by Noventa here.
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About Noventa Energy Partners
Noventa Energy is a provider of proven, fully-engineered technology alternatives for heating and cooling buildings. We draw on our portfolio of exclusively licensed technologies and internally created IP to develop customized renewable energy solutions that reduce carbon emissions and manage energy costs for our customers. For more information, visit noventaenergy.com, follow us on Facebook, tweet us at @noventaenergy and connect with us on Linkedin.
About Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB)
VCIB is an Ontario-based schedule 1 federally chartered bank and a subsidiary of Vancouver City Savings Credit Union. As Canada’s first values-driven bank, VCIB provides banking, investing, and financing solutions designed to help our partners — purpose-driven businesses and organizations — thrive , grow, and foster change. Additionally, VCIB offers specialized financing solutions for social purpose real estate and clean energy projects. VCIB is a certified B Corporation and a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. To learn more about our partnership-based approach to banking, visit vcib.ca, tweet us at @BankVancity and connect with us on LinkedIn.