Waste to Energy project will help reduce
Metro Vancouver's greenhouse gases and its carbon footprint

As part of its Sustainable Region Initiative, Metro Vancouver aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to achieve its vision of being a zero net carbon region. To help achieve this goal, Metro Vancouver is evaluating the potential to produce clean energy from biosolids from its five wastewater treatment plants. These plants process wastewater from approximately two million people in the region. Three of these plants provide secondary treatment, while the remaining two facilities, Iona and Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plants, provide primary treatment. Metro Vancouver plans to upgrade the primary plants to secondary treatment by 2020 (Iona) and 2030 (Lions Gate).

Annacis Island Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant is Metro Vancouver's largest producer of biosolids.

Metro Vancouver's current wastewater treatment processes produce 26,000 dry tonnes per year of biosolids, an organic material rich in nutrients. Currently, Metro Vancouver reuses about 17,000 dry tonnes of its biosolids as Nutrifor, a product that is used for landscaping and land reclamation. Biosolids production will increase dramatically with the addition of secondary treatment at the Iona and Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plants. Future quantities will be about 54,000 to 67,000 dry tonnes. Thus, Metro Vancouver needs to evaluate options for re-using or recycling its biosolids.

In keeping with its Sustainable Region Initiative, Metro Vancouver wished to evaluate energy production options for biosolids. Energy production would provide the opportunity to reuse biosolids in a manner that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus help Metro Vancouver achieve its vision of being a zero net carbon region. Metro Vancouver retained Associated Engineering, with Gartner Lee Ltd. and Veolia Water Canada, to evaluate options to produce energy from biosolids. The team's objectives were to complete the following:

• Identify biosolids energy production options
• Determine which biosolids energy production options are most suitable for Metro Vancouver
• Complete a Triple Bottom Line analysis of the options to recommend the preferred option(s)
• Develop conceptual designs and Present Value Cost Estimates of the preferred option(s).

The preferred option had to reduce Metro Vancouver's carbon footprint and be energy efficient, economical, environmentally sustainable, and socially acceptable.

Energy from waste is not a new concept. Many municipalities and utilities around the world have implemented Waste-to-Energy Facilities (WTEF) employing municipal solid waste. In Canada, there are three WTEF, one of the largest located in Metro Vancouver. Metro Vancouver's WTEF in Burnaby incinerates 280,000 tonnes of solid waste per year, converting it to steam for a local plant and electricity, which is sold to BC Hydro.

“What is unique about this project”, reports Project Manager Dr. Dave Forgie, “is using biosolids, not municipal solid waste, as the waste resource to produce energy. Few facilities around the world use biosolids as the resource from which to produce energy. No such facilities exist in Canada and there are only a few in the United States. Thus, the team had very few examples from which to draw upon.” Working with Metro Vancouver, Associated Engineering developed a unique and flexible approach that could result in a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gases. Using Triple Bottom Line analysis, the team evaluated a series of options based on sociological, environmental, and economic criteria.

The recommended approach uses digested biosolids as a fuel for cement kilns, replacing coal and thereby significantly reducing greenhouse gases. The recommendations also include expanding energy production from biosolids gas (biogas) via cogeneration and potentially using biogas as a fuel for Metro Vancouver's fleet vehicles.

As a testament to the success of the project, Metro Vancouver is proceeding with the second phase of the study, and several Canadian municipalities, including the Capital Regional District and City of Edmonton, are investigating energy from waste options for their biosolids, based on the success of this study. For Metro Vancouver, the energy production approach is a practical, sustainable, and cost effective option for reducing greenhouse gases and its carbon footprint, and achieving its zero net carbon vision for the region. Waste to Energy project will help reduce Metro Vancouver's greenhouse gases and its carbon footprint Annacis Island Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant is Metro Vancouver's largest producer of biosolids.

Main entrance to new Lakeshore Water Treatment Plant.

New Lakeshore Water Treatment Plant
replaces Belle River Facility

The grand opening for the new Lakeshore Belle River Water Treatment Plant (WTP) was held on May 29, 2009, and attended by the public, Town officials, and Provincial and Federal officials. The new WTP, which was put into service in late January 2009, replaced the old Belle River facility, parts of which dated back to the 1920's. For more information on the project, see AE Today Issue 1, 2009.

Congratulations to the dedicated team on this project including Ed Salenieks (Project Manager), Chris Caers, Bob Prestidge, Caroline Korn, Chris Mills, Krys Pioro, David Holyer, Vanja Jovic, Dusan Fil, Rob Cochrane, and Main entrance to new Lakeshore Water Mike Liszega.