Lighting, boiler systems could get green upgrade in city buildings

The City of Winnipeg is exploring a greener future for eight of its buildings.

A consultant will be hired to study the best retrofit options to reduce energy use in the structures.

“The key reason that we’re doing this is, No. 1, to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions … The climate target in OurWinnipeg 2045 (a city planning document) … is to achieve zero emissions by 2050,” said Melanie Chatfield, the city’s energy analyst.

The studies will focus on eight city-owned buildings, including the old St. Boniface fire hall at 212 Dumoulin St., Festival Du Voyageur at 233 Provencher Ave., St. Boniface City Hall at 219 Provencher Ave., NorWest Resource Centre at 1880 Alexander Ave., St. James-Assiniboia Library at 1910 Portage Ave., Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Station 23 at 880 Dalhousie Dr., a public works yard and offices at 1539 Waverley St. and the WFPS academy at 2546 McPhillips St.

“They represent a range of building types and ages so we’re able to, maybe in the future, extrapolate from these studies and apply it to other buildings. All the buildings selected also have opportunities for energy efficiency and decarbonization improvements,” said Chatfield.

While the city has yet to earmark funding to complete retrofits on the buildings, studying how best to do so should help guide future work, she said.

“Doing the studies would mean that the city has a better sense of what that would cost and whether that could be added to the budget … I think it’s really important because we do have targets at the City of Winnipeg to reduce our carbon emissions and reduce our energy usage.”

The contractor will complete “Green Building Pathway” studies for the structures, which include targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent and reduce potable water consumption by more than 20 per cent. For buildings that use fossil fuels, proposals would outline a partial switch to greener energy sources, such as electricity, within 10 years.

Federation of Canadian Municipalities green municipal fund will cover 80 per cent of the cost to complete the studies, a program that requires these targets.

For each building, the consultant will lay out capital and operating costs of potential retrofits and the amount of carbon emissions the steps would reduce.

Chatfield said some buildings could switch to more efficient lighting, replace old boilers and/or upgrade building envelopes to eliminate air leaks.

The chairman of the city’s climate action and resilience committee said he’s glad to see the city study green retrofit options.

“It seems (to be) the low-hanging fruit, in terms of doing something about climate change … I’m hoping it’s the start of something bigger,” said Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital).

Mayes said the city hasn’t spent much money on that option yet and further investment is needed.

“We’ve shown tremendous willingness to approve ambitious plans and policies and then getting the actual funding committed has been a real challenge,” he said.

An organization that advocates for green building upgrades said retrofits don’t just cut emissions but can also help make structures more resilient to the effects of climate change.

Laura Tyler, executive director of Sustainable Building Manitoba, said updating mechanical systems tends to improve indoor air quality, which can better protect people from forest fire smoke, while better insulated buildings can retain heat longer during power failures.

Tyler urged the city to consider energy savings from efficiency upgrades, not just the capital cost for the upgrades.

“They say the cheapest form of energy is energy you don’t have to use,” said Tyler.

The city has set aside $248,000 for the contract and plans to award it by July 31, with a final report expected early next year.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga