Campus Energy Centre

The Campus Energy Centre will is schedule to be in operation in the fall of 2015

The Campus Energy Centre burns natural gas to produce thermal energy for the UBC Vancouver campus.

Campus Energy Centre

The Campus Energy Centre (CEC) is UBC’s $24 million state-of-the-art hot water boiler facility. Located in the heart of our 1,000 acre campus, the facility is capable of meeting all of UBC’s heating requirements.

The CEC is the primary energy source for our new hot water district energy system.

CEC Facts and Figures

  • Three 15 megawatt (MW) thermal, natural gas fired, high-efficiency boilers.
  • Includes a Condensing Economizer, a cost-effective waste heat recovery system which improves the facility’s energy efficiency.
  • Initially fitted with 45 MW of thermal capacity, which meets UBC’s current energy needs.
  • Facility is constructed using Canadian produced Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), a new wood building material that can be used as a low carbon, renewable alternative to steel construction.
  • CEC is a LEED® Gold certified building, and the second utility facility UBC has constructed using CLT that will achieve the LEED Gold standard, the first being the BRDF.
  • CEC is intended for continuous operation and will be staffed around the clock by qualified Power Engineers.

Planning for the Future

The CEC has been designed with the future in mind. The facility includes additional space to install a fourth boiler as campus heating demands increase. The CEC’s site was carefully chosen to allow for future electrical and thermal energy cogeneration options, and/or other new thermal energy production opportunities.

Educating the UBC community about the daily energy production on campus is also a priority. The CEC has a large window feature on the ground floor to observe the boiler hall, as well as interactive signage and displays, and opportunities for facility tours.

Contributing to UBC’s Climate Action Plan

The CEC is part of UBC’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction program. Through the CEC’s high-efficiency energy production and our new district energy system and specialized underground piping, we will reduce UBC’s annual carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint by an expected 22 per cent from 2007 baseline levels.