Stories & Features

Which program is right for you?

In the last issue of Current, we met Tamara Berger, our new industrial sector marketing manager. Tamara provided an excellent overview of our conservation and energy management programs.

But what does this look like for real customers? If you're exploring better ways for your business to manage energy use or become more energy efficient, you're probably wondering which programs would make the most sense. And you're probably also wondering how much you could expect to save.

So in this article, we're going to round up some recent customer stories from across our strategic energy management programs to see what kind of benefits you might expect.

Start with an audit or feasibility study

A good place to start understanding where you can make an impact on your energy usage is to ask us about our audits and feasibility studies.

Our plant-wide audit will help you decide where to begin and what your best opportunities might be. And the energy efficiency feasibility study offers guidance on specific projects you might be planning. The findings from these audits and studies have led to some significant savings for some customers.

• Copper Mountain, a large copper mine near Princeton in the Southern Interior, embarked on an amazing project to replace their enormous diesel-powered dump trucks with electric ones. And it all began with a BC Hydro-funded feasibility study. With the first phase complete, each of Copper Mountain's electric trucks can displace 400 litres of diesel per hour, equal to 14,000 tonnes of GHG emissions annually.
• Harmac Pacific's Nanaimo pulp mill was able to get eight studies funded – six efficiency studies and two low carbon electrification (LCE) studies. These led to a range of upgrades and innovations, including HVAC modernization, new pumps, compressed air reduction, site-wide LED lighting and lower emissions. "Everyone at BC Hydro has been positive and supportive," says Alessandro Deviato, Harmac's BC Hydro-funded industrial energy manager. "I've only got good things to say!"

Apply for an incentive

Many customers have successfully applied for our industrial project incentives. We see plenty of compressed air upgrades, but in the last few years, LED lighting project incentives have also become very popular. It's not surprising as they offer huge efficiency, practicality and fast payback times for all kinds of customers.

• Vancouver International Airport (YVR) recently upgraded over 20,000 lights, saving over 2.8 gigawatt hours per year, with a projected payback of around three years.
• Sugar Cane Cannabis, a new venture set up by Williams Lake First Nation, worked with our LED horticultural lighting experts to launch a brand new facility growing large, high-quality crops in a very small footprint. "One of the coolest things about indoor growing is that you can replicate any growing environment you want. We're very happy with the results so far," says Daniel Penny, Sugar Cane's chief operating officer.
• Boxmaster is a corrugated packaging supplier in Delta. Operations Manager Chris Hanna read about LED lighting on our website and decided to explore. The incentive process was very fast, with installation complete just four months after getting approval. Boxmaster received an incentive covering almost half the cost of the project and also reduced their annual lighting costs by about 80%.

Hire an energy manager

Along with applying for multiple incentives, some customers have partnered with us to hire an energy manager. Energy managers take a strategic approach to an organization's energy goals and objectives to implement energy savings projects that support the business.

• West Fraser is a diversified wood products company with more than 60 facilities in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. They've benefitted from our programs for over 10 years, identifying all kinds of ways to save or repurpose energy, such as recycling and redirecting heat from air compressors to keep offices and break rooms warm. West Fraser's team of energy managers have also welcomed support from BC Hydro-funded co-op students through our industrial energy manager program.
• Mount Milligan Mine is a large open-pit copper and gold mine north of Prince George that processes around 60,000 tons of ore per day. As an industrial energy manager program partner, they successfully implemented a major low carbon electrification project to replace two 500kW diesel generators. "Payback for the project should be less than a year," says reliability engineer Craig Nordquist.

Join our cohort program

Finally, our strategic energy management cohort program is a fully funded, two-year curriculum where you'll be part of a cohort of 12 industrial customers. Working together with an expert energy coach in group workshops, you'll learn how to help your business save energy immediately, while also building a strong approach to continuous energy improvement.

• Saputo, one of the top 10 dairy processors in the world, is just one organization seeing great success with the industrial cohort program. A team from their Abbotsford facility recently completed Cohort 5 – and a team from their Port Coquitlam facility is currently enrolled in Cohort 7. The Abbotsford team ran an energy assessment and a plant-wide audit, which generated recommendations such as heat recovery initiatives, LED, and compressed air upgrades. "The support of BC Hydro was instrumental in driving this movement," says Lucio De Martinis, director of corporate responsibility and sustainability.

Get in touch – we'd love to help

Now that you've seen what's possible for all kinds of different customers, why not get in touch with us? Whether you have a clear vision for reducing energy usage or you just don't know where to begin, we'd love to hear your ideas, answer your questions, and work with you to build a more energy-efficient business.

To find out more about any of our conservation and energy management programs, contact your Key Account Manager or Regional Energy Manager, or call 604 522 4713 in the Lower Mainland or 1 866 522 4713 elsewhere in B.C.