Construction has started on the Modernized Gatineau Energy Centre, a facility which will help the Canadian government reach its goal of reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 per cent by 2025.
The centre is part of the Energy Services Acquisition Program (ESAP), a project to modernize and decarbonize the federal district energy system. It will provide heating for 80 buildings and cooling for 67 buildings in the National Capital Region (NCR), including the Parliament buildings.
By 2025, the entire federal district energy system will be converted from an energy-intensive and high-polluting steam system to a state-of-the-art, low-temperature hot-water system, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from heating and cooling operations by an estimated 92 per cent.
Construction on the centre, one of four sites making up the federal district energy system, will begin this month and is expected to be completed by March 2025. When operational, the new centre will be carbon neutral and one of the cleanest, most sustainable energy centres of this scale in North America.
