Volume 3 - Program & Project Ideas (PDF - 4.5 - Natural Life Network

Natural Resources Canada – Community Energy Systems
For additional information, contact John Irving, Burlington Electric Department, Plant
Manager, McNeil Power Plant. Tel.: (802) 865 7482.
- Case Study: Burwash Landing, YK
The community of Burwash Landing uses local biomass to fuel its district energy system.
The community recently examined an extension of the system to include new homes that
are proposed for construction. Deforestation due to Pine Beetle infestation has resulted in
significant dead fuel on the band’s lands. The expansion of the district energy system to
take advantage of this fuel would incorporate several pertinent issues: the stability of
energy costs, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the creation of employment, and
the retention of the local workforce.
For additional information, contact Dave Beaudoin, Regional Manager, PWGSC. Tel.: (867)
667-3373.
- Case study: St. Paul, Minnesota USA
The City of St. Paul District heating system heats 141 large buildings and 298 singlefamily
residences, totaling over 75 per cent of the city’s downtown. Biomass waste
(originally destined for landfill) now supplies 70 to 80 per cent of the district heating
system’s annual energy needs. The fuel is mostly chipped tree trimmings and other clean
wood wastes.
For more information, contact Anders Rydaker, President, District Heating St Paul Inc. tel.:
(651) 297-8955.
- Case study: Oujé-Bougoumou, QC
Oujé-Bougoumou Cree Nation, about 1000 km’s north of Montreal, uses wood waste to
fuel a district heating system that supplies both heat and hot water to all the buildings of
the village. Over 135 housing units and 16 public buildings are connected to the district
heating system.
• It heats 72 per cent of the development, but accounts for only about 10 per
cent of the fuel costs (1997 statistics).
• Residential operating costs are reduced.
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are reduced by 2300 tonnes annually.
• Jobs were created and money stayed within the community.
The community received the United Nation’s, We the People: 50 Communities Award
and a Habitat II Best Practices citation.
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