Sustainability is a mindset relevant in several core local government operations. In Metro Vancouver, one award-winning example is the Lulu Island Renewable Natural Gas Facility. The facility captures and cleans excess biogas from wastewater treatment and sells the scrubbed gas to FortisBC for residential distribution. The facility takes waste, and turns it into a resource.
The reused gas is expected to heat 600 homes a year. Capturing and reselling the gas also means less biogas is burned off (known as flaring). That reduction is estimated at the equivalent of 550 cars off the road each year. Taking a by-product of the wastewater treatment process and selling it to FortisBC has also brought in a new form of revenue to the wastewater plant, benefiting local taxpayers.
The project is a partnership between the Metro Vancouver Regional District and Fortis BC, and aligns with both organizations’ strategic visions. Metro Vancouver is working towards more low carbon energy, and FortisBC is actively recruiting renewable natural gas, and aims to have 15% of its supply coming from similar recaptured sources by 2030. The Lulu Island Renewable Natural Gas Facility was an opportunity for both Metro Vancouver and FortisBC to learn, and now provides an example for other local governments.
This project won the Community Excellence Award in Sustainability in 2023.
The deadline to submit a nomination for the 2024 CEA awards is May 17, 2024.