Revelstoke, B.C., to host bioheat summit next week
October 11, 2023
By City of Revelstoke
Rural, resource-based communities are exploring options to boost their economies and take action on climate. Community bioenergy systems are one solution and the City of Revelstoke is
presenting a Bio-Heat Summit in October to share what it has learned over the last 20 years and bring together experts, operators, and other communities interested in implementing similar
solutions.
Since 2005, heat generated using sawmill residuals from Downie Timber has been distributed by an underground piping system into the City Centre. Today, eight buildings are connected, including the Community Centre, Arena, schools, Government buildings, a church, businesses, and multi-family housing. Because the system offsets the use of propane for heating, it has reduced greenhouse gas emissions from Revelstoke’s civic operations. It has also kept energy dollars local.
“Revelstoke certainly has one of the oldest municipal energy systems anywhere in Canada using a renewable, local fuel. We have experiences to share from that history but we also have more to learn ourselves,” says Evan Parliament, CAO of the City of Revelstoke who conceived of the idea of the Bio-Heat Summit. “Bringing people together for this Summit both here in Revelstoke and online will increase everyone’s knowledge of local bioenergy energy and that will benefit all of us – longtimers like Revelstoke and newcomers exploring how this might work in their communities. There’s no better place and no better time for this discussion and we invite everyone to participate.”
Registration for the Summit is now open and participants have the option of participating inperson in Revelstoke or online. See the web page for more details: rvst.ca/bioheatsummit.
The event will include keynote presentations from B.C. and across Canada, including the release of results from the 2023 national bio-heat survey, which has been conducted annually by Natural Resources Canada and identifies trends in community biomass heating systems. There will also be presentations about the Revelstoke and Sicamous energy systems, and discussion about the critical ingredients for operating successful bioenergy programs.
This article is part of the Bioheat Week 2023. Read more articles about bioheat in Canada.
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