Wellness Centre to host cogeneration technology

The Town's largest and most visited recreation facility will be the site of a new community energy project, made possible by a grant through Ontario's Rural Infrastructure Investment Initiative. The Caledon Centre for Recreation & Wellness (CCRW) has been chosen as the site for a natural gas cogeneration unit and a solar thermal project.

Cogeneration (combined heat and power generation) is an established technology that uses a single process to generate both electricity and usable heat suitable for space heating, domestic hot water and possible space cooling. The Town's cogeneration unit will be powered by natural gas, allowing the CCRW to operate under reduced electrical load in the event of a power outage. The cogeneration component could eliminate approximately 539 tons of carbon dioxide per year - the equivalent to removing 92 cars from the road.

"This is a community energy project because it helps the Town fulfill a variety of emergency, community and environmental service accountabilities," said Mayor Marolyn Morrison. "This project demonstrates the Town's leadership in alternate technologies to solve operational challenges in our community facilities."

The CCRW is an ideal cogeneration application because it demands a significant amount of heat for pool and hot water needs. The secondary component of the community energy project is a pilot solar thermal project for domestic hot water. Solar water heating is one of the most economical renewable energy applications and is well suited to a swimming pool setting. Given the facility's size, intensity of use and its emergency designation, reliable energy and the costs of such are critically significant especially since the CCRW currently does not have back up systems to power the facility's heating, cooling and lighting.

The cogeneration unit is expected to be operational by this fall. The solar element will be phased, proposed to commence within the 2008 budget.