Canada’s district energy innovation extends far beyond Ottawa. Across the country, IDEA’s members are advancing future-ready systems that integrate local resources, electrification, heat recovery, thermal storage, and renewable fuels.
At the University of British Columbia, the Bioenergy Research & Demonstration Facility (BRDF) converts renewable biomass into synthetic gas that fuels a steam boiler, or, following further refinement, an engine-grade fuel gas that powers a reciprocating engine to generate heat and electricity. By producing up to 10 MW of clean energy, BRDF reduces campus greenhouse gas emissions by 14% annually. The facility was developed using existing infrastructure, minimizing new capital costs while maximizing ROI. (Vancouver, BC)
Creative Energy’s Downtown Vancouver Core serves more than 200 end users across over 45 million square feet, making it one of North America’s largest district energy systems. The system is in the first phase of modernization, focused on electrifying heating supply, transitioning to low-carbon generation, and expanding waste heat and recovery solutions. Once complete, the upgrades are expected to offset 38,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, demonstrating how district energy supports resilience and reliability in dense urban environments. (Vancouver, BC)
Calgary District Heating Inc. employs high-efficiency industrial boilers and a CHP unit to distribute thermal energy through a 12,000-meter closed-loop Thermal Distribution System (TDS). Serving an estimated 100,000 Calgarians, the system demonstrates how municipal public utilities can advance low-carbon goals through scalable, adaptable infrastructure that supports both new construction and retrofits. (Calgary, AB)
Enwave’s Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC) system is globally recognized, serving more than 40 million square feet of downtown Toronto real estate by harnessing Lake Ontario’s cold deep water for efficient cooling. Paired with combined heat and power (CHP) and thermal storage, it reduces peak electricity demand and improves resiliency during grid outages—showcasing district energy’s ability to support sustainability and system reliability. Enwave’s Green Heat™ program takes this further, leveraging waste heat recovered through DLWC to produce low-carbon heating via electrification—a system capable of displacing up to 11,600 tCO2e annually, equivalent to converting more than 10 million square feet of office space to net-zero. A flagship example of the program in action is The Well, a landmark mixed-use development where a GDECA award-winning underground thermal energy storage system—a 2-million-gallon tank drawing on DLWC and a high-efficiency hot water loop—delivers resilient, low-carbon heating and cooling to the development and surrounding downtown west communities. (Toronto, ON)
Markham District Energy, one of Canada’s fastest-growing district energy utilities, operates two neighboring systems, supported by four energy production centers and more than 50 kilometers of underground thermal piping. Leveraging cogeneration, heat pumps, and biomass-fueled boilers, the system provides low-carbon heating and cooling to more than 200 residential, commercial, and institutional buildings. With 99.99% reliability over the past two decades, Markham District Energy’s investment in the world’s largest Wastewater Energy Transfer (WET) system further demonstrates how district energy can keep pace with rapid growth while strengthening long-term community resilience. (Markham, ON)
Enwave Energy Corporation (Enwave) is investing $170–$180 million in a new waste-processing facility in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI). Anticipated to be fully operational in 2028, the new, state-of-the-art facility will double the existing waste processing capacity, dramatically reducing flow to the landfill while improving energy efficiency and enhancing energy security for 145 customer buildings on the interconnected district energy network with PEI Energy Systems, including the tertiary-care Queen Elizabeth Hospital.