2022Completion Year
$687,873.61Project Cost
$116,844.66Cost Savings
$515,905.20MCCAC Funding
1.5Simple Payback Period
1,926,980kWh/yearElectrical Energy Savings
704tonnes CO2e/yearGHG Reductions
Greenhouse gas emissions reductions for this project are calculated based on Alberta’s Carbon Offset Emission Factors Handbook Version 2.0
Overview
As part of the Action Centre’s Recreation Energy Conservation Program, the City of Medicine Hat completed an installation of a 220 kW natural gas combined heat and power (CHP) unit.
The project was commissioned in August 2022.
What is CHP?
Also known as cogeneration, CHP systems merge the production of usable heat and electricity into a single process that can substantially reduce carbon emissions and energy costs. The combined heat and power units use gas turbines to generate electricity for onsite use while recovering waste heat from the generation process for pool heating, space heating, and domestic hot water.
Approach
The City of Medicine Hat owns and operates the Family Leisure Centre (FLC) which was originally constructed in 1998 and then expanded in 2016. The total facility consists of an indoor fieldhouse, gymnasiums, a fitness centre with a running track, meeting rooms and offices, change rooms, an Olympic-size arena and an indoor aquatic park. Ball diamonds, soccer pitches and a BMX track are on the exterior of the building. Electricity generated by the unit will displace grid electricity and heat recovered from the generation process will displace gas consumption, resulting in utility savings and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the community.
Results
Installation of the unit will result in a reduction of 704 tCO2/year, which is an 18% GHG reduction facility-wide from the baseline. The project is also expected to save $116,844.66/year in energy costs.
This innovative solution and the technology are something we, as residents of the city, can all be proud of. We’re reducing our impact on the environment and seeing cost savings at the same time.
Councillor Alison Van Dyke, Chair of the Energy & Infrastructure Committee
We are delighted that Medicine Hat residents can get active at the Big Marble Go Centre, knowing that their city is saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the same time.
Trina Innes, Executive Director of Sustainability Services at Alberta Municipalities
