Fleming College to receive $12M to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Fleming College in Peterborough will install a new geothermal heating and cooling system thanks to $12.1 million in funding from the province.

Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal made the announcement on Wednesday.

In total, Fleming will receive $12,147,000 from the Greenhouse Gas Campus Retrofits Program (GGCRP), which includes:

• $6.209 million from the Innovation Grant Fund to fund the Fleming College Emissions Reduction Initiative
• $1.538 million from the Retrofits Grant Fund for Cap and Trade Non-Participants
• $a 4.4-million loan from the Interest-Free Loan Fund

“Our partnership with Fleming College ensures more opportunities for local students and businesses,” said Leal, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Minister for Small Business.

“I am pleased to see the positive impact of key industry research and development collaborations across our community.”

The $6.209 million will be used to install a closed loop vertical borehole geothermal system and upgrades to the Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre, including rooftop solar and wind energy and an Internet of Things lab.

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The remaining funding will be used for additional GHG reducing initiatives, as well as the creation of a low carbon demonstration site that will support the skills development of students.

The project is expected to be completed by spring 2019.

“Fleming College prides itself on being a leader in sustainability within the communities we serve and among other post-secondary institutions,” said Fleming president Dr. Tony Tilly.

“Developing these renewable energy systems will be a leap forward for us to further reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and replace aging, outdated heating and cooling systems. It will further provide valuable learning opportunities for our students.”

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Leal also announced the province has awarded Fleming’s Centre for Sustainable Municipalities (CSM) a $500,000 research grant for a portfolio of projects designed to accelerate the development of advanced asset management technologies.

“Municipalities own almost 60 per cent of Canada’s core public infrastructure,” said Grant Murphy, manager of the Centre for Sustainable Municipalities. “New state-of-the-art technologies provide opportunities for municipalities to optimize the management and operation of these assets. There is a real potential to get municipalities plugged in to transformative technologies.”

The funding is part of the Government of Ontario’s Colleges Applied Research and Development Fund (CARDF), administered by Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) in the Stream 1 College Strategic Sector/Cluster/Technology Platform Program (CSSCTP). The program is supported by the Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science; in partnership with Colleges Ontario. The award will be combined with $500,000 in partner cash and in-kind funding.