Burnaby’s buildings are about to be even better.
At its April 2 meeting, city council unanimously approved a contract worth $950,000 with MCW Custom Energy Solutions for Phase 2 of the city’s 2011/2012 Building Performance Improvements Project.
The money will come from the gaming fund reserves.
Burnaby Coun. Dan Johnston said after an audit of city buildings about six or seven years ago, the city completed a successful energy improvement program, where the majority of city facilities were retrofitted to reduce energy use.
According to a city report, monitoring of actual energy savings show that program was successful, resulting in annual savings of approximately $450,000 and a reduction of CO2 emissions by more than 1,200 tonnes annually.
Now the city is moving forward with the second phase, which is intended to reduce energy and CO2 emission even more.
Such improvements include lighting retrofits and control improvements, LED lighting, building envelope improvements and the installation of a renewable solar energy program. These enhancements are proposed for a variety of city facilities, ranging from ice rinks and pools to fire halls and libraries.
The city report notes the implementation of the recommended measures would result in 4,200 GJ of energy saved and 105 tonnes of CO2 avoided.
“It’s a wise use of taxpayers’ money,” Johnston said.
“It’s sustainable, we’re reducing our (carbon) footprint and the savings will be quite noticeable.”