EEMS

Corporate Energy � Who we are

York Region's Energy Management Program, led by the Property Services Branch under the Corporate Energy Services Department began in 2003. The Energy Management Program's primary focus is to incorporate sustainable measures and identify energy related cost-saving initiatives for all Regional buildings and operations.

Corporate Energy's responsibilities include conducting energy efficiency audits, building retrofits, exploring opportunities for renewable energy (wind feasibility studies), demand reduction programs as well as providing general energy advisory services to all internal departments. Corporate Energy Services also consults with external committees including the Association of Municipalities of Ontario - Energy Advisory Committee and the Greater Toronto Area Corporate Clean Air Task Force. In addition to its involvement with various committees, Corporate Energy Services is also responsible for the program management of York Region's award winning Energy and Environmental Management System (EEMS) application

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Energy and Environmental Management System (EEMS)

In Ontario, the energy marketplace is constantly changing which makes it critical for municipalities to implement a software solution that tracks not only the energy consumption, energy cost, and facility performance but also tracks the environment emissions that are generated through municipal operations. Off-the-shelf software products did not adequately address the unique needs of municipal operations so York Region took the initiative and developed its own Energy & Environmental Management System (EEMS). EEMS tracks and reports on electricity, water, natural gas consumption and related costs, fuel usage for heating, power generation and fleet vehicles.

What separates the EEMS energy solution from other industry offerings is its unique ability to track and report greenhouse gas and criteria air contaminant emissions generated through energy consumed by buildings, street and traffic lighting, water and wastewater operations, power generation and fleet transportation. Mandatory Environment Canada National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) air pollutant emissions reporting require a municipality to report emissions on a facility basis if certain criteria are met. Another program that requires measurement and verification of municipally-generated greenhouse gas emissions is the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP). EEMS supports this five milestone program by categorizing municipal assets into PCP sectors permitting further analysis of emissions data.

York Region is the recipient of the FCM-CH2M HILL Sustainability Community Award for excellence in innovation in municipal services delivery that has advanced sustainable community development. York Region was specifically recognized for its leadership in energy conservation, in having developed "The Energy and Environmental Management System (EEMS)".

Today, the list of Municipal EEMS users includes:

York Region, Waterloo Region, Halton Region, Town of Markham, & the Town of Oakville

A more detailed description of EEMS and its benefits can be found in the EEMS Brochure.
For further information about the EEMS Program or to find out how to access the system please contact energy@york.ca

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Sustainable Buildings

York Region and Sustainability

What is sustainability? In 1987, the United Nations through the Brundtland Commission defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Effectively, how can we leave the world a better place for our children and grand-children?

The full text of the Brundtland Report can be downloaded here.

York Region strives to design, build and operate its facilities in a manner that demonstrates leadership in sustainability for the benefit of the environment and residents of the Region. The goal of sustainable development is to integrate and balance the triple bottom line: social responsibility, environmental protection, and economic vitality.

LEED Definition

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction.

Sustainable New Buildings

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building rating system administered by the Canadian Green Building Council is the best-recognized tool for creating sustainable buildings. The generic LEED� project checklist can be found here.

York Region adopted in 2006 the requirement that all new Regional facilities be constructed to a minimum level of "LEED� Silver". The incremental construction cost premium for designing to a LEED� Silver standard is estimated to be marginally more versus a similar building that just meets building code requirements. The premium, if any, will be paid back many times in energy savings alone over the life of the building. One cost-benefit evaluation can be found here .

New LEED certified buildings meet this triple bottom line in the following ways:

Social responsibility: Sustainable buildings provide a healthier environment for workers, potentially reducing demands on the healthcare system.
Environmental protection: Sustainable buildings are in better harmony with their surroundings, use lower-impact construction materials, and less energy and water.
Economic vitality: Sustainable buildings cost less to heat and power and increase employee productivity, leading to lower life-cycle costs and more effective use of taxpayer dollars.

LEED� Projects

Scott Somerville Fire and Rescue Service Station No. 7-9 and York Region Emergency Medical Services Paramedic Response Station. (Picture of this facility)

This facility was a collaborative effort between the City of Vaughan and York Region. This facility has been awarded LEED� Gold certification by the Canada Green Building Council. This is York Regions first LEED� certified facility and has exceeded the minimum target of LEED� Silver. This project received the 2007 Canadian Project Excellence Award under the Vision category. This prestigious award recognizes the outstanding performance and vision for a better workplace, society and environment.

Some of the key features of the project can be found on the display board links below:

Sustainable Sites
Materials and Resources
Indoor Environmental Quality
Energy and Water Efficiency

Media Release: Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Tom Taylor Place

The Housing York Inc., Tom Taylor Place project is on track to be York Regions first LEED� certified multi-unit residential facility. This 49,000 sq. ft facility will be used to provide 50 apartments for family living.

Vaughan Community Environmental Centre

The proposed Vaughan Community Environmental Centre is to be designed to achieve a LEED� certification for sustainable design and construction practices.

Artist's Concept�Community Environmental Centre in Vaughan.

Stouffville Zone 2 Pumping Station

LEED� certification is being pursued for Stouffville Zone 2 Pumping Station. The objective of this project is to build the first Regional water and wastewater facility that is designed, developed and operated to demonstrate leadership in sustainability for the benefit of the environment and residents of the Region. The installation of photovoltaic solar panels is being investigated at the site to off set the building energy use.

Sustainable Existing Buildings

Existing Regional facilities are audited and retrofitted for energy efficiency on a periodic basis. An energy component is now included in each facility's Building Condition Assessment, which is conducted by the Property Services Branch every five years.

One such example is the Administrative Centre at 17250 Yonge Street in Newmarket. It is the largest Regional building and offered substantial retrofit opportunities despite being relatively new (built in 1993). Substantial lighting and mechanical retrofits were completed in 2006, yielding annual energy savings of approximately $200,000.

Link to York Region Administrative Centre Energy User Guide.

Efficient and sustainable day-to-day operations in Regional buildings are managed by the Facilities Group within the Property Services Branch, including green housekeeping, recycling, building automation and pesticide reduction.

Where interior spaces are renovated due to changing occupant needs, the Property Services Branch applies the "Commercial Interiors" form of the LEED� green building rating system.

Water and wastewater facilities are a special case, representing about two-thirds of the Region's electricity consumption. As such, the Region undertook separate W&WW related energy audits and participated in the Transmission Operations Optimizer (TOO) study.

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Energy

Strategic Energy Plan

As a municipality and as a large energy consumer, York Region is in a position to demonstrate leadership in energy conservation and environmental protection. Given York Region's growth, size and scope of business, it is no surprise that York Region is a large consumer of energy. The Region consumes energy in different ways which includes but may not be limited to, heating and cooling of buildings, to drive large pumps, motors and treatment processes at water and wastewater facilities, to power street and traffic lights and to fuel vehicles and buses.

A consultant has been hired to develop a comprehensive Strategic Energy Plan (SEP) for the Region. The comprehensive SEP will set up a Regional framework to better manage municipal energy consumption, create a culture of conservation and sustainability in a financially, socially and environmentally responsible manner.

The SEP is being carried out in a phased approach.

Phase I � Development of the Regional Strategic Energy Plan

The development of the Regional SEP will provide a strategic vision incorporating all Regional departments. The plan will provide a framework for advancing the Region from its current state of energy management to the preferred state of energy sustainability. The plan will provide a long-term strategic vision for energy management that is consistent with and builds upon the Regions Vision 2026, Sustainability Strategy and Strategic Air Quality Strategy.

Strategic energy planning involves developing a framework of programs with a set of goals and objectives by:

Identifying processes improvements, program implementations and project initiations to be implemented in the short, medium and long term
Identifying priorities in developing a strategy for implementation and developing a mechanism to track and review the plan on an ongoing basis

The Regional SEP is scheduled to be presented to Regional Council in fall 2008.

Regional SEP will recommend processes, programs and projects under the Energy Management Framework above.

Phase II - Development of the Water and Wastewater Energy Management Plan

The water and wastewater (W&WW) Energy Management Plan (EMP) will act as a reference for other departments on developing their own EMP. W&WW facilities were selected as a pilot group for the development of an EMP since over 60% of the electricity costs of the Region's energy bill are derived from W&WW treatment and pumping facilities. The W&WW EMP is a subset report that is to align with the Regional SEP. Through this initiative the Region is demonstrating leadership towards managing their energy portfolio in a sustainable manner while promoting the wise use of energy and supporting initiatives that enhance the environment.

Energy Procurement

Corporate Energy Services provides expertise for the procurement of electricity and natural gas for all of the Regions consumption.

Electricity

Regional Electricity is supplied by 3 utility providers: Newmarket Hydro, PowerStream, and Hydro One.

An Interim Electricity Procurement Strategy has been received Council approval in May 2007. To access the council report and its attachments please click here.
Other related links include:

AMO/LAS Electricity Procurement Program
Independent Electrical System Operator (IESO)
Ontario Energy Board (OEB)
Ontario Power Generation (OPG)

Natural Gas

York Region purchases natural gas for municipal facilities from 2 sources:

Enbridge Gas
LAS Natural Gas Procurement Program - offered by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).

The LAS program is designed to achieve savings for municipalities through the bulk procurement of natural gas. Utilizing the expertise of Energy Advantage, the LAS program has become a large player in the natural gas market - the program purchases gas for about 180 municipalities and other public sector organizations and services a total of about 1,800 physical locations.

For further information please click on the following GASAMO program

Demand Response

Demand response (DR) refers to a range of temporary methods to reduce the severity of these peak electricity demand events. Conservation differs in that its goal is to achieve a permanent reduction in electrical use, usually through improved energy efficiency.

There are three methods for achieving DR:

Load shifting � deferring usage to a non-peak period
Load interruption � reducing load during peak period
Load displacement � on-site power generation.

York Region is currently participating in two Demand Response programs:

A 50 kW load interruption program at the York Region Administrative Headquarters that is primarily accomplished by switching off non-essential lighting.
Pilot demand response management project at Aurora Sewage Pumping Station to use emergency power through diesel generators during peak periods to relieve the electrical demand stress on the local transformer station. Council Report: Report No. 10 of the Finance and Administration Committee Regional Council Meeting of December 13, 2007

Renewable Energy

According to the Ontario Ministry of Energy, approximately 34% of Ontario's electricity supply is generated with fossil fuels, leading to emissions of greenhouse gases and criteria air contaminants. These emissions contribute to global effects such as climate change, and local effects, such as poor air quality, which endanger the species on this planet. Therefore, the amount and type of energy we use has a significant impact on the environment and our health. One way to mitigate the damage caused by fossil fuel generating stations is to employ renewable energy technologies. These technologies harness energy from the sun, biomass, wind, tidal power and other natural phenomena of Earth to produce electricity no emissions generation.

The Region recognizes the impacts of its energy use and has been investigating the application of wind energy as one of the possible renewable energy source for its municipal operations.. York Region has completed a Wind Pre-Feasibility Study in the Town's of Georgina and Whitchurch-Stouffville and a wind map analysis has been conducted for the evaluation of wind speeds in York Region. These studies examined the wind resource quality, land use designations and constraints, as well as a host of other factors affecting the viability of a wind energy project.

Based on the results of the studies and mapping, the Sutton Water pollution Control Plant (WPCP), located in the Town of Georgina, was identified as the preferred site for "behind the meter" potential wind energy development. As part of the Detailed Energy Feasibility Study at Sutton WPCP a 60 meter meteorological tower was erected in September 2007 for wind resource monitoring for one year. The meteorological tower will be decommissioned once completion of the study. The study is to investigate the possibility of installing a single wind turbine at the Sutton WPCP and will assess the ability to reduce consumption from the power grid and reduce electrical utility costs and emissions by using wind energy.

Photo of the 60 meter meteorological tower at Sutton WPCP can be found here.

Council Reports on Wind Energy:

Council approved Wind Energy Feasibility Studies on August 17, 2004 through the adoption of Clause No. 18 of Report No. 9 of the Finance and Administration Committee.
Council approved The Region's Role in Wind Energy on January 26, 2006 through the adoption of Clause No. 9 of Report No. 1 of the Finance and Administration Committee.
Council approved Wind Monitoring Station on January 26, 2006 through the adaptation of Clause No. 10 of Report No. 1 of Finance and Administration Committee.

For more information on renewable energy technologies, please visit the Canadian Renewable Energy Network.

Funding of Energy Projects

Energy efficiency projects are typically associated with high costs, however Corporate Energy Services has focused on self-financing the initial groundwork stages of such work. In total, $337,204 of grant monies have been accessed through various programs. Not only has the group minimized upfront costs of energy efficiency projects, but the resultant energy savings will lead to monetary savings and act effectively as a hedge against rising energy costs.

Corporate Energy Services has successfully accessed the Green Municipal Fund for its building energy feasibility and wind energy feasibility studies. Funds from the federal government and Enbridge Gas Distribution have been applied to new construction projects, such as Islington Fire and Emergency Medical Services station.

Other funding opportunities for environmental initiatives are available from Environment Canada.

Residential Energy Conservation

With energy prices across North America steadily increasing residential energy conservation needs to be top priority . Corporate Energy Services understand that by reducing our energy needs the Region can save money, help decrease the provincial need for additional power generation and most importantly, promote environmental stewardship.

Electrcity and Natural Gas in York Region is supplied by:

Newmarket Hydro

Newmarket-Tay Power Distribution Ltd. (NTPDL) is an Ontario Energy Board licensed electricity distribution company. NTPDL operates a distribution system in the service area approved by the Ontario Energy Board. The shareholder is the Town of Newmarket.

Link to energy conservation at Newmarket Hydro

Power Stream

PowerStream is the third largest local electricity distribution company in Ontario, delivering power to more than 240,000 residential and business customers in the municipalities of Aurora, Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan.
Link to energy conservation at Power Stream

Hydro One

Launched in May 2000, Hydro One is a holding company with four operating subsidiaries. It emerged from the restructuring of Ontario Hydro as the owner and operator of the wires operations formerly provided by the provincially owned utility. The company employs approximately 4,000 full-time staff across the province.

Link to http://www.hydroone.com/en/about/

Enbridge

At Enbridge, their goal is to deliver superior earnings growth while maintaining their relatively low risk profile, and they will continue to focus on delivering total returns to shareholders that exceed those of tehir peers.

By building on our core competencies and making the necessary course corrections to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise, Enbridge will remain well positioned to maintain the pattern we have established in recent years of long-term growth in earnings per share.

Link to http://www.enbridge.com/about/

energy Star

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.
Results are already adding up. With the help of ENERGY STAR, energy savings in 2007 alone have resulted in the avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 27 million cars � all while saving $16 billion on respective utility bills.

Link to energy conservation @ Energy Star

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Environment

York Region and the Environment

Municipal governments have an important contribution to make to climate protection. Up to half of Canada's greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions (350 million tonnes) are under the direct or indirect control or influence of municipal governments. By 2012, communities could cut GHG emissions by 20 to 50 Mt from municipal operations and community-wide initiatives with investments in environmental infrastructure and sustainable transportation infrastructure. Municipal governments can reduce emissions through:

land-use, energy and transportation planning;
infrastructure design
green procurement
building retrofits
water conservation
solid waste diversion
renewable energy.

Reducing York Region's carbon footprint is a critical mandate for Corporate Energy Services.

Green Power Procurement

Choosing green, carbon-free power is an easy way to help fight climate change and create a healthier environment for future generations. Conventional electricity production is among the largest industrial sources of carbon dioxide, a primary greenhouse gas that is linked to climate change. Electricity production is also a major source of pollutants including nitric oxide, sulphur dioxide, mercury and particulates that contribute to poor air quality and smog conditions.

Green Power procurement is an integral part of York Region's overall Electricity Procurement Strategy and helps demonstrate York Region's commitment to environmental stewardship. York Region sources its green power exclusively from an EcoLogo� certified source ensuring that green power comes from clean, emission-free sources like wind power and low-impact water power instead of carbon-intensive sources like coal. Environment Canada's Environmental Choice Program gives EcoLogo� certification to Alternative Source Energy Generation from natural sources, such as wind and sun, as well as low-impact technologies, including small-scale hydro, certain biomass and biogas technologies, and geothermal energy.
The Region plans to purchase "green power" for two facilities staring in January 2008; the Administrative Center in Newmarket and the Hazardous and Household Recycling deport located in East Gwillimbury.

Energy and Environmental Reporting - Bill 21

Ontario's Bill 21 Energy Conservation Responsibility Act allows the enactment of the Energy Conservation Leadership Act, which removes barriers and creates opportunities for the public sector to implement energy conservation and efficiency initiatives, and the installation of 800,000 smart meters in homes and businesses.

The Region's strategic plans such as Vision 2026 and the Greening Strategy, and programs, such as LED retrofits for traffic controls (see Section 7 of the Council report), Water for Tomorrow, Smart Commute and the Corporate Clean Air Task Force, demonstrate its commitment to reducing energy consumption, and preserving and enhancing its environmental features. Corporate Energy Services supports these initiatives by performing environmental reporting.

As a member of the Partners for Climate Protection, the Region has adopted a five milestone framework to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. An important step to reducing emissions is to understand which facilities are contributing to emissions generation. By establishing an emissions baseline, goals and targets can be set and impacts of emissions reductions measures can be better understood. Regular reporting on emissions generated allows progress on clean air initiatives to be measured. Milestone 1 involves establishing an emissions baseline while Milestone 5 requires reporting on progress. By using the Energy and Environmental Management System (EEMS), emissions generation from Regional operations can be easily estimated. In 2004, International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Energy Services (IES) compiled a corporate greenhouse gas inventory for Regional operations using data from EEMS.

Federal initiatives that support environmental protection include the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the National Pollutant Release Inventory. Corporate Energy Services is also responsible for submitting mandatory emissions reporting for Regional buildings to the National Pollutant Release Inventory.

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Annual Energy Reports

Annual Energy Reports provide regular updates to the Region on the progress and outlook of the Region's Energy Management Program:

Corporate Services-Property Services Branch

Corporate Energy Services Program