Fourth year environmental studies major Krystal Devauld – photos 250News

Prince George, B.C. – National Bioenergy Day celebrations are in full swing up at UNBC this morning.

A number of initiatives are on display including the school’s Sustainable Communities Demonstration Project.

Energy technician Amanda Drew says it connects student residences and the daycare to their bioenergy plants and bioenergy system.

Aside from being sustainable, she says it’s also more cost effective than using natural gas.

Energy technician Amanda Drew and Sustainability Manager Kyrke Gaudreau demonstrate UNBC’s Sustainable Communities Demonstration Project

“Even with natural gas rates so low right now. When factoring in operations, the increase in operations costs and maintenance costs, running a bioenergy system there still are savings.”

Fourth year environmental studies major Krystal Devauld is also on hand demonstrating a district energy project the school is hoping one northern community will adopt.

“It would be extremely cheaper for them to switch from propane,” she says.

“They’re in an area where they can’t access natural gas and it would be beneficial for them to do district heating because then individual buildings and individual stakeholders won’t have the maintenance and upkeep of the boilers.”

Another project on site shows the City of Prince George has also made significant strides in this area.

“In June 2012 we did go live with a district energy system,” says engineering assistant Todd Angus.

“Phase one included six buildings including City Hall, the Coliseum, the Four Seasons Pool, Two Rivers Art Gallery, the Civic Centre and the Prince George Public Library.”

Since then he says they’ve added the new RCMP, and Wood Innovation and Design Buildings.

“It involves getting hot water from Lakeland (Mill), which they get by burning hog fuel or waste material from their wood operations. We’re able to take some of that heat which they also use to heat their kilns so that we can send that hot water into our buildings on the system.”

Angus says the system is very efficient too. “Boilers operate at a 80% efficiency, this system can be 95-98% efficient.”