False Creek NEU, established in 2010, is a forward-thinking District Energy system providing heating and hot water services to a variety of residential, commercial, and institutional buildings in Vancouver, Canada.
The SHARC Series installation effectively captures latent heat from sewage using a heat pump process at the False Creek Energy Centre, located under the Cambie Bridge.
The NEU has expanded by over 300% since its inception and aims to deliver 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.
| Product Installed | Project Type | Initial (2017) Project Size | Commissioned | Expansion (2018) | Developer | Engineer | Architect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5x SHARC 880 Systems | District Energy/Thermal Energy Network (TEN) | 395,000 m2 (4.2M ft2) | 2x SHARC 880's installed March 2017 | additional 3 SHARC 880's installed July 2024 | City of Vancouver | City of Vancouver | City of Vancouver |
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2010
The False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility (NEU) begins operations, using a combination of sewage heat recovery and high-efficiency natural gas boilers to provide low-carbon energy.
Created as part of the City of Vancouvers Climate Emergency Action Plan to minimize GHG emissions via a financially self-sustaining, commercially operated utility that delivers competitively priced energy, the system was put into service in 2010 for the Olympic Village development.
March 2017
The NEU installs two SHARC 880 wastewater filtration units on a trial basis to enhance the system’s efficiency and reduce maintenance requirements.
Operations expand to serve over 5.2 million ft2 (483,000 m2) of customer buildings, with an energy capacity of 3.2 MW from sewage heat recovery and 12 MW from gas boilers.
2018
The City Council approves plans to expand the NEU service area to parts of Mount Pleasant, the False Creek Flats, and Northeast False Creek, including the new St. Paul’s Hospital campus. This expansion could potentially provide 100% renewable heating to around 22 million square feet of new development.
July 2024
3 additional SHARC 880’s are installed July 2024, increasing capacity by 6.6 MW from 3.2 megawatts to 9.8 MW, making it the largest wastewater energy (WET) system in North America.
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