UVic DEP

The District Energy Plant is a new environmentally-friendly water heating plant built to serve the University Of Victoria.

The new natural-gas fired plant boasts more efficient boilers which, in combination with new control systems and ultra-efficient energy transfer stations across the campus produce significant energy savings.

This building was designed to achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold standard certification.  The design includes an attractive sloped-roof design, inspired by the pyramidal shape of the Interfaith Chapel. It also features exterior walls clad in wood, large expanses of glass to provide views to the boilers and pipes, enhanced ventilation, and a system to funnel rainwater from the roof down to a stone rain garden that wrap the east and north sides of the building.

The purpose of the project was to provide new boilers with suitable redundancy and ability to accommodate future load growth, in order to ensure the long term reliable and cost effective operation of the district energy system. The site provides flexibility for future expansion and connections to the three buildings in the Arts section of campus, outside of Ring Road, that are not currently part of the district energy loop.

Construction was completed by October 2018.