UVic considering biomass thermal energy plant
March 21, 2013
By Saanich News
March 21, 2013, Victoria, BC – As a way to reduce its carbon footprint, the University of Victoria is considering building a biomass thermal energy plant to heat its buildings.
“Biomass fuel, such as wood waste, or a combination of wood waste, yard and garden waste, is clean. It doesn’t create greenhouse gas because it’s a renewable resource,” Tom Smith, UVic’s director of facilities told the Saanich News .
“It’s burning something different than natural gas that comes from the ground to create hot water.”
UVic says its current heat system – hot water generated by natural-gas fuelled burners – accounts for more than 70 per cent of Uvic’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Smith says the university spends some $750,000 a year on carbon offsets and taxes on natural gas.
Building a biomass fuel plant was one of the recommendations that came out of UVic’s energy master plan, which looked at the school’s energy savings.
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