NEWS RELEASE, Edmonton, Alberta – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces
Canadian Armed Forces members deserve modern facilities that are fit-for-purpose so that they can train and maintain their readiness. Across Canada, the Government of Canada is investing to upgrade military facilities by building cleaner, more modern infrastructure that will save taxpayers money and better support our military’s needs.
Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, and the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, announced a $45.3 million investment in infrastructure upgrades at 3 Canadian Division Support Base (CDSB) Edmonton.
This energy performance contract (EPC) project will upgrade 124 buildings at the Edmonton military base, reducing the Base’s energy costs by 21%, or an estimated $2 million annually. Energy retrofits will also lower greenhouse gas emissions by almost 5200 tonnes per year. Upgrades will include LED lighting upgrades, modernized heating and cooling equipment, replacing fossil fuel heating systems with low carbon alternatives, upgraded building envelopes, high efficiency water fixtures, renewable energy installations, and more.
The contract for this work was awarded to Ameresco Inc. of Richmond, ON, and this project is expected to sustain over 125 jobs during construction. Our facilities remain fully functional during the project, with no impact on military operations.
We expect to see the first emissions reductions and energy savings by the end of 2024, with the full reduction in energy costs by 2026. Design and construction have begun, and we anticipate all retrofits and upgrades will be complete in 2026.
Projects like this will help us meet our target of reducing our GHG emissions by 40 percent by 2025, five years ahead of schedule, and will contribute to the federal government’s target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Quick facts
- Since 2015, we’ve implemented EPC contracts at 15 locations, and alongside our energy service company partners, have invested almost $515 million in energy and GHG reduction improvements. Once the EPC projects underway are completed, we expect to reduce our annual energy costs by nearly $20 million per year and reduce our emissions by over 80,000 tonnes annually.
- An energy performance contract is a contract with an energy services company, where the company finances energy retrofit projects at a base or wing and guarantees the savings. DND then uses the savings from the reduction in our energy costs to pay back the company over a five- to 15-year period, limiting upfront costs for the government. The money saved in energy costs will be used to repay the energy service company over a fourteen-year period, which minimizes our upfront costs and guarantees that the upgrades produce savings.
- EPC projects have been completed in Greenwood, Esquimalt, Petawawa, Valcartier and Bagotville and more. EPC projects are underway at Comox, Borden, Kingston, Shilo, Halifax, Alert, Gagetown and Edmonton, as well as a second EPC at Valcartier., Similar contracts are now in development for bases in Trenton St Jean, Montreal, Winnipeg, Wainwright, Dundurn, Gander, and Goose Bay.
- Defence Construction Canada (DCC) is Crown Corporation that provides contracting, contract management and related infrastructure services to the Department of National Defence. DCC supports Canada’s greening defence initiatives by offering environmental technical support related to energy performance contracts, environmental assessments, environmental management systems, work on contaminated sites and more.
Associated links
Contacts
Diana Ebadi
Press Secretary and Communications Advisor
Office of the Minister of National Defence
Email: Diana.Ebadi@forces.gc.ca
Media Relations
Department of National Defence
Phone: 613-904-3333
Email: mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca
