By next fall, two provincial buildings in downtown Prince George will be heated with thermal energy.
The green heat is headed for the Prince George Law Courts and Plaza 400, which both have boilers that need to be replaced.
They'll be connected to Prince George's Downtown Renewable Energy System (DRES), a hot-water utility that produces thermal energy using sawmill residue from Lakeland Mills.
A city press release said connecting into the DRES will reduce capital and operational costs - to the tune of $139,000 a year for both buildings.
It will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 480 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year.
"I am delighted that we are expanding our downtown energy system and strengthening our position as a leader in environmental technology," said Mayor Lyn Hall in a statement.
The project will cost about $450,000, which is covered by the Ministry of Technology's capital budget. The City of Prince George will kick in the cost of installing the piping systems to the buildings, at about $200,000.
The announcement came in the midst of the International Bioenergy Conference and Exhibition, held at the Civic Centre this week.
"Projects like the Prince George Downtown Renewable Energy System do more than just heat the province's buildings," said John Martin, parliamentary secretary to Minister of Forests. "The DRES improves the city's carbon footprint, results in cleaner and more efficient heating, and allows the province to participate in progressive and innovative energy solutions all of which benefit the people of Prince George and the environment."
Construction on the project is expected to begin in July and will impact several sites downtown throughout the summer: Second Avenue and George Street, Fifth Avenue and George Street, one block of Fifth Avenue between George Street and Queensway; and the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Queensway.
The two buildings will join nine others already connected through the downtown, including City Hall, the Civic Centre, Coliseum, the Four Seasons Pool, the Wood Innovation and Design Centre, and the new RCMP detachment.
The Prince George system, built in 2012, produces hot water that is piped to buildings for space heating and domestic hot water. The cumulative reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for the system are estimated at 1,820 tonnes per year.
