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City, Oshawa Power teaming for energy project

 

Ivano Labricciosa, president and CEO of Oshawa Power, announces an advanced energy project planned at Delpark Homes Centre. The 600 kW heat and power plant will be developed in partnership with the City of Oshawa and is expected to be operational by the end of 2020. (Photo by Chris Jones)

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express

The City of Oshawa and Oshawa Power are teaming up to bring a new advanced energy project to the city.

It’s been announced Delpark Homes Centre, formerly the Legends Centre, will be the site of a future combined heat and power plant.

A 600 kW system will be installed there, and is anticipated to be operational by the end of 2020.

It will be fuelled by natural gas, and will generate electricity and heat.

It will also be used bring power to the Delpark Homes Centre in the event of a power outage.

The hope is for the facility to help save on heating and cooling costs, as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It is estimated the project will reduce Delpark Homes Centre’s draw on Oshawa’s grid by approximately 3,700 MWh every year, and will take approximately 4,000 homes off-grid during its lifetime.

Ward 1 city councillor Rosemary McConkey thinks the project will be very beneficial for the city.

“Everyone’s mindful of energy and the need [for it], especially in inclement weather like we’ve [recently] had,” she said. “I’m looking at this as a good step forward.”

Ward 4 city and regional councillor Rick Kerr sees the new plant as a practical step forward.

“[This project is] a tremendous cooperative venture, it’s going to generate income in the form of savings, but also, in terms of the taxpayer, this is just a smart way to generate energy programs,” he says. “Even if there [is]… a climate emergency, you should be doing stuff like this anyway because it’s more economically feasible, more economically viable, and it just does so much more good for the community.”

Durham Regional Chair John Henry says he believes the project is great not only for the city, but also the environment.

“Anything we can do with climate-related issues, and having alternate ways to generate electricity and keep facilities open is a good news story,” says Henry.

Ward 3 city and regional councillor Bob Chapman told The Oshawa Express he thinks it will be a “really great project.”

“We’ll get this up and running by the end of this year, and then we’ll evaluate the actual savings that we’ll have over [2021],” he says.

He also notes this won’t just save taxpayers money, but will also reduce Oshawa’s “carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.”

“[City council] declared a climate emergency back in December, and we suggested that we need to be looking at all these types of projects when we’re building facilities or upgrading them, or doing things we need to look through that environmental lens at the same time, and this does that,” he says.

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