Victoria’s Dockside Green selects Nexterra’s clean energy gasification technology to achieve greenhouse gas neutral status

Victoria, BC - Things are heating up at Dockside Green, but not at the climate’s expense.

The Victoria harbourside development, which is setting the standard for green residential developments in North America and around the world, announced today that it will heat its buildings using biomass gasification, a process that generates low-cost heat and power using biofuels. Canada’s New Government has contributed a total of $2.29 million to development of this innovative Canadian technology.

“Dockside Green is a great example of how energy technology investments can provide practical solutions to use less and live better,” said the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources. “Choosing renewable energy sources in our buildings will lead to real reductions of air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.”

The system is manufactured by Nexterra Energy Corp., a Vancouver firm that develops and delivers advanced clean energy gasification systems.

“By adopting Nexterra’s technology, Dockside Green is taking concrete action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change,” said Windmill Development’s Joe Van Belleghem, co-developer of the project along with Vancity. “Reducing emissions from buildings to the point where we are carbon-neutral was one of many things that Dockside Green needed to do to be a world-class sustainable community. We looked around the world for the right technology and found Nexterra in our own backyard.”

“Nexterra’s gasification system is perfect for an urban environment. It is a proven, simple, ultra-clean technology that sets a new standard for converting biomass into useful heat energy,” said Van Belleghem. “Wood waste is converted into a clean-burning synthetic gas that can be used much like natural gas. The entire system is housed in a small, aesthetically pleasing building that fits in with the local surroundings,” he said.

“This is yet another example of how our project partners Vancity, Nexterra, Corix, Terasen Energy Services and BC Hydro - with support from the federal and provincial governments and the City of Victoria - are demonstrating that we have the knowledge, experience and technology here in BC to help meet climate change and other environmental challenges,” said Van Belleghem.

“Unprecedented challenges such as global warming are often the catalysts that inspire profound changes,” said Nexterra CEO Jonathan Rhone, “We’re thrilled that we have had the opportunity to work with Dockside. Each of the partners on this unique project is committed to making those changes, adopting breakthroughs in technology, seizing opportunities that never existed before, and developing a whole new way of doing business.”

“Dockside Green’s sustainability goals fit in well with our new Energy Plan’s vision to encourage made-in-BC solutions for meeting our growing energy needs,” said Richard Neufeld, British Columbia Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. “The Plan and this development builds on a proud BC tradition of innovation and strengthens our leadership in sustainable environmental management.”

The largest development of land in Victoria’s history, once complete Dockside Green will be a community for approximately 2,500 people incorporating the very highest in green standards. It is a multimillion dollar project that includes residential, live/work, hotel, retail, office, light industrial uses and numerous public amenities to be built over the next decade.

“The federal and provincial governments and BC Hydro were very supportive of the project from the beginning, and their involvement helped us develop an energy system that can be used not only in BC, but across North America,” said Van Belleghem. "The federal government supported research and approval costs and the installation in the early years prior to full build-out of the development. The net result is the creation of a model that will mean certain local and export opportunities for biomass heat generation utilizing a BC company.

“This is an example of how the private sector and government can work together to create renewable energy systems that benefit everyone. With efficiencies like this helping to curb load growth, BC Hydro’s conservation target becomes one step closer,” said Van Belleghem. “”We are grateful to BC Hydro which has worked with Dockside from the beginning. They helped us move away from an electric-baseboard heating approach to a more sustainable solution"