FortisBC ready to harness Tolko’s heat

 The Tolko plant in Kelowna has been blowing off steam for decades. Wasted heat environmentalists would say. But that could soon change.

Tolko, FortisBC and the City of Kelowna are teaming up to harness that wasted heat.

“It’s actually quite a nice system where you take waste heat, capture it and convert that heat into a water source,” says  
FortisBC spokesman, Neal Pobran. “You just pipe that water underground and bring it in through the buildings, convert the water back into forced air and heat it throughout the building.”  

The plan has been in the works for three years and will require some major infrastructure upgrades including a web of new piping, all on FortisBC’s tab, meaning it won’t cost city taxpayers a cent. Money aside, the city says the goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“The overall plan is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by five percent,” says Randy Cleveland, Kelowna’s Director of Infrastructure Planning.

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Five percent might not sound like a lot but it is.

“This city produces about 800,000 tons of greenhouse gases every year. So if you can take five percent of that away, you’re doing an enormous amount to reduce our environmental footprint,” says Cleveland.

The plan still needs approval from the BC Utilities Commission but if it is approved, more than a dozen buildings including Prospera Place would be first in line. Private buildings would also be considered.

“The big advantage for them is they don’t have to build a mechanical plant in their building. This saves them money. All they’re doing now is buying the heat that’s coming the pipe instead of having to generate their own heat. So this is extremely exciting.”

If all goes according to plan, the $26 million dollar thermal project could get underway by next spring.