Sewage to clean energy cuts hospital’s carbon emissions by 85%.

Canada’s homes and buildings make up approximately 18% of the country’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The construction and operation of buildings is critical to reducing emissions and making homes and businesses climate-resilient and sustainable. Innovative technologies that reduce energy consumption and save money are key to a clean energy future.  

Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB), a Vancity subsidiary, has the experience and a growing project portfolio to show that the technology needed to make change is ready to implement.  

One example is the proprietary Wastewater Energy Transfer™ or WET™ project developed by Noventa Energy Partners at Toronto Western Hospital. Noventa’s WET™  System will use the patented HUBER ThermWin^®️ technology to harvest the renewable energy in municipal wastewater to provide 19MW of cost effective, low-carbon heating and cooling to the hospital.  VCIB helped finance this $43-million venture — the world’s largest raw wastewater energy project — alongside Canada Investment Bank (CIB) and other partners.  

Today, this innovative wastewater system supplies 90% of the hospital’s heating and cooling and has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 85%. That’s like taking 1,800 cars off the road every year!