Building a Green Future

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Reducing emissions from BC Hydro's facilities

It's 2010 and BC Hydro is proud to enter our first year as a carbon neutral Crown Corporation. For us, that means reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from our vehicle fleet, building energy use, and use of paper. Our approach is to reduce emissions where we can, and then invest in offset projects that reduce GHG emissions elsewhere in British Columbia.

In addition, BC Hydro is supporting the Public Sector Energy Conservation Agreement, which sets a conservation goal of reducing electricity consumption in existing provincial buildings by 20 per cent by 2020.

BC Hydro's buildings

BC Hydro has more than 100 buildings in over 60 locations across the province. From our headquarters in downtown Vancouver to large sites in Burnaby and Surrey to smaller district offices in communities like Nanaimo, Vernon and Prince George, BC Hydro is working to improve the condition of our facilities while simultaneously reducing energy use.

As mandated by the B.C. Government, all new provincial public buildings will be constructed to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold or equivalent standards. Additionally, all newly-constructed BC Hydro field buildings will use only one quarter of the energy of a standard building built to B.C. Building Code. Existing buildings will be retrofitted to make them more energy efficient, climate friendly and healthier for public servants.

Improvements range from upgrading, improving and maintaining roofs, HVAC, and lighting systems at existing facilities to constructing new energy-efficient field buildings. The facility improvements aim to create workplaces that promote employee satisfaction, safety, and productivity while increasing energy efficiency, sustainability and durability.

New facilities

BC Hydro is building two new facilities in Port Alberni and in Burnaby. Both facilities are being constructed to LEED Gold standards with many sustainable features, including high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, innovative waste water technology and energy-efficient lighting. The passive design uses the building architecture to minimize energy consumption and improve thermal comfort. By leveraging the natural environment, buildings that incorporate passive design can:

• Improve occupant comfort and the quality of the interior environment;
• Help reduce electricity bills;
• Reduce GHGs associated with day-to-day use and maintenance; and
• Make alternative energy systems viable.

Passive buildings minimize their impact on the environment because they utilize fewer resources and are designed with ongoing efficiency in mind. These new facilities will be operationally more functional and better meet the needs of BC Hydro customers and employees.

Improving our workspace

At BC Hydro's Lower Mainland offices, office improvements address end-of-life replacements of building and interior office systems. Equalizing floor usage is a first step to addressing the need for additional workspace. The renovated floors minimize future move costs as a result of their modular design.

The results of our efforts are starting to show – last year, floor and office transformation improvements resulted in 114 MWh of energy savings. This is enough energy to light 65 homes for one year!

Key features of our new, energy efficient workspaces include:

• Auto-dimming and adjustable lighting functions;
• Energy-efficient lighting and occupancy sensors which reduce electricity used for workstation lighting by an average of 40%;
• High efficiency, T-8 overhead fluorescent lighting provides base lighting;
• ENERGY STAR® rated office equipment throughout the space;
• Furnishings that are manufactured using lower impact materials and processes and are more easily reused or recycled at the end of their service life; and
• Lowered cubicle heights, glass panel inserts, and other design features which maximize natural light to improve access to light and reduce energy costs. A single south-facing window can illuminate 20 to 100 times its area. Dispersing light can regulate temperature and glare while reducing the use of overhead lighting.

Rethinking existing facilities

The Surrey Campus Project was initiated to examine the land use, facility conditions and business requirements on BC Hydro's Surrey Campus – a 240 acre site that is Hydro's largest multi-use facility.

To support conservation on Campus, a site-wide energy audit and metering program has been launched. The audit will recommend energy-saving improvements to the building envelope, HVAC systems and lighting as well as providing a baseline measurement for all buildings on campus since last fall.

Employee-led Green Teams are also working to realize energy savings on Campus. For example, last year the Surrey Lower Mainland South Green Team won an Employee Conservation Leadership Award for their work in helping to promote conservation to over 200 employees at their workplace.

This team of nine volunteers was instrumental in their facility saving 9% in energy use in 2008, well above their target of 5%. They completed an analysis of technological options to reduce energy use, installed an advanced separation and recycling depot, conducted conservation surveys to learn more about people's attitudes and behaviours, and used incentives to motivate people's conservation efforts.