FortisBC unveils nine energy champions at 2024 Efficiency in Action Awards

Oct 18, 2024

B.C. organizations recognized for leading energy-efficiency projects

SURREY, B.C.—October 18, 2024: FortisBC Energy Inc. and FortisBC Inc. (“FortisBC”) unveiled nine of B.C.’s exceptional energy champions at their 2024 Efficiency in Action Awards yesterday. The actions these award recipients took represent the innovative and effective work happening in the province to help lower energy use, overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and operational costs across B.C.’s commercial and industrial sectors. Their efforts are having an impact on advancing province-wide emissions targets and will continue to have an impact by shaping and influencing future energy-efficiency programs. All winners have also seen benefits to their organizations, from more comfortable homes for seniors to operating more competitively in their respective markets.

“The winners’ efforts exemplify the tremendous work underway by organizations across B.C. to address energy use and overall GHG emissions,” said Joe Mazza, vice president of energy supply and resource development at FortisBC. “We’re proud to honour their achievements through these awards. These awards further highlight the potential of energy efficiency to advance provincial climate action goals while improving business operations and the spaces where people live and work.”

FortisBC’s 2024 Efficiency in Action Award winners are:

• Liberty Foods
• University of the Fraser Valley
• Baptist Housing
• The Aboriginal Housing Management Association
• City of Chilliwack
• Fraser Health
• Hawthorne Seniors Care Community
• Avery Family Farms
• PLK BC Restaurant Inc. (Popeyes)

Four organizations made substantial strides in lowering their energy use by working with FortisBC to test gas heat pumps across different types of buildings. Leveraging this cutting-edge heating technology is already resulting in more comfortable conditions for seniors and hospital patients, and the findings will help advance future energy-saving programs. Baptist Housing installed gas heat pumps at assisted living and rental housing facilities in White Rock and Victoria. In addition, Fraser Health installed gas heat pumps at two local hospitals. These gas heat pumps are providing more effective and efficient space heating than the previous heating system to help keep residents and patients comfortable.

For two organizations, efforts to save energy have led to operational cost savings with benefits passed along to their customers. A family-owned grocery store in Fruitvale, Liberty Foods, invested in new, high-efficiency refrigeration equipment to lower energy use, helping them better serve their customers. Avery Family Farms owns a vertical farm in Okanagan Falls designed to produce optimal growing conditions year-round. The farm has a harvesting capacity of 10,000 heads of fresh lettuce a day and, by completing a lighting upgrade, it’s helped lower the cost of growing local food.

“As a multi-generational, family-run business, we’re committed to growing sustainable and delicious food locally to better serve British Columbians,” said Rachelle Peters, quality assurance manager at Avery Family Farms. “The energy-efficiency upgrades at our vertical farm operation have helped lower electricity use and made it easier to maintain a stable and consistent growing environment. This is allowing us to sell lettuce at a price that competes with organic field grown produce.”

The actions taken by this year’s award recipients are making tangible progress in lowering emissions associated with energy use. Combined, six of the 2024 Efficiency in Action Award winners lowered gas use by an estimated 27,200 gigajoules (GJ) annually, the equivalent yearly energy use of nearly 270 homes¹ and two winners reduced their electricity use by more than 750,800 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually, the equivalent energy needed to power almost 30 homes for a year.² In addition, the winners took advantage of more than $5.6 million in FortisBC energy-efficiency rebates.

These actions represent just a small amount of the energy-saving actions underway in B.C. Last year alone, FortisBC’s industrial and commercial customers that took part in the company’s energy-efficiency programs saved more than one million GJ of gas use annually, the equivalent yearly energy use of around 10,200 homes³ and reduced electricity use by nearly 26 million kWh annually, the equivalent energy needed to power more than 900 homes for a year.⁴

FortisBC plans to invest close to $700 million in their electricity and gas energy-efficiency programs between 2024-2027. Helping customers reduce their overall GHG emissions is top of mind for FortisBC as they continue to invest in conservation and energy efficiency and work to increase the supply of renewable and low-carbon gases.⁵

To read more about the work these organizations completed, visit fortisbc.com/efficiencyawards.

Backgrounder

• Liberty Foods is a family-owned grocery store established in 1957 in Fruitvale. Refrigeration is a significant part of their energy consumption, so they installed new, high-efficiency refrigeration equipment that is helping lower energy use by more than 30 per cent a year, helping them better serve their customers in the region.
• University of the Fraser Valley was one of the first participants in FortisBC’s gas heat pump rebate program. Installing seven gas heat pumps at the Trades and Technology Centre in Chilliwack, the units will help to lower energy use and overall GHG emissions.
• Baptist Housing provides comfortable housing and care for seniors across the province. To ensure the comfort and well-being of their residents, Baptist Housing participated in one of FortisBC’s commercial gas heat pump pilot programs and installed these gas heat pumps at their locations in White Rock and Victoria. They also participated in another FortisBC pilot program to install gas heat pumps at three locations in Kelowna. These upgrades have resulted in more consistent indoor temperatures, which is improving the comfort and well-being for both the staff and residents living in these buildings.
• Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA) has been pivotal in advocating for Indigenous housing for the past 25 years. With the goal to provide safe and affordable housing for Indigenous Peoples, AHMA is focused on finding opportunities to improve energy efficiency in homes and buildings and help lower energy bills. These energy-efficiency upgrades have been critical in helping lower costs and reducing overall GHG emissions while improving the living spaces for their member societies’ clients.
• City of Chilliwack found a unique way to make their operations more energy efficient for two municipal buildings. The City installed a heat recovery system that takes waste heat produced by the Chilliwack Coliseum, transfers it through 200 metres of underground piping and uses it to heat the pools, hot tubs and dehumidifiers at the Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre. This demonstrates how waste heat can serve a greater purpose and be used to help improve energy efficiency in buildings.
• Fraser Health is the largest regional health authority in British Columbia focusing on the health and well-being of people and communities. They are participating in recent FortisBC’s pilot programs installing a total of six gas heat pumps in two Lower Mainland hospitals (the Cedar Pavilion and Maple Pavilion in Langley Memorial Hospital and the Shirley Dean Pavilion in Surrey Memorial Hospital). These units provide high-efficiency space conditioning to improve patient comfort.
• Hawthorne Seniors Care Community is a non-profit society dedicated to providing safe, affordable and respectful care to seniors. Having secure and reliable heating is a priority for them to ensure the comfort and safety of their tenants. To address this, the society participated in a FortisBC pilot where they had four gas heat pumps installed on the roof of their Port Coquitlam building. This pilot and the FortisBC rebate made it possible for the society to install this innovative technology that has made a positive impact on the quality of life for the people they care for today and for many years to come.
• Avery Family Farms is a multi-generational family-owned organization based in Okanagan Falls. They operate a 50,000 square foot vertical farm facility designed to produce optimal growing conditions year-round. They installed specialty LED lights to reduce their electricity consumption. The cost savings enable them to sell their lettuce at a price point that competes with organic field grown produce that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. The energy-efficiency upgrades help them achieve their sustainability goals and maintain a stable and consistent growing environment.
• PLK BC Restaurant Inc. (Popeyes) is a franchisee of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen serving fried chicken and other menu options to their customers. In British Columbia, they upgraded to new, higher-efficiency vat fryers at ten locations on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. This new equipment is helping them lower their energy use and better serve their customers.

¹Natural Resources Canada greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.

²Natural Resources Canada greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.

³Natural Resources Canada greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.

⁴Natural Resources Canada greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.

⁵FortisBC uses the term renewable and low-carbon gas to refer collectively to the low-carbon gases or fuels that the utility can acquire under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Clean Energy) Regulation, which are: Renewable Natural Gas (also called RNG or biomethane), hydrogen, synthesis gas (from wood waste) and lignin. FortisBC’s renewable and low-carbon gas portfolio currently includes only Renewable Natural Gas. Other gases and fuels may be added to the program over time. Depending on their source, all of these gases have differing levels of lifecycle carbon intensity. However, all of these gases are low carbon when compared to the lifecycle carbon intensity of conventional natural gas. The current burner tip emission factor of RNG is 0.27 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule of energy (gCO₂e/MJ) and the current renewable and low-carbon gas portfolio lifecycle emissions for stationary combustion are -22 gCO₂e/MJ. This is below B.C.’s low carbon threshold for lifecycle carbon intensity of 30.8 gCO₂e/MJ as set out in the 2024 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation amendments.

 

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