The City was recognized in one of Veridian's 'Conservation Champions' for achieving outstanding electricity conservation results in 2015 and 2017. Veridian's Conservation Champions Awards pay tribute to customers who make reducing energy consumption an integral part of their business. In 2015, the City was recognized by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for achieving its fifth and final Milestone in the Partners for Climate Protection Program.

What is the City doing to reduce corporate energy use and greenhouse gas emissions?

Developed an Action Plan: The City of Pickering developed a Corporate Energy Management Plan, which outlines a 5-year action plan to increase energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and minimize the City's environmental footprint

Reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in City facilities: Following are a few of the projects that have been undertaken:

• Undertaking an Integrated Energy Project at the Pickering Recreation Complex (PRC). Many of the major mechanical systems at the PRC were installed in 1983 and were at the end of their useful life.  The hot water boilers, heating/cooling systems, pool water circulation and arena refrigeration systems operated with considerably lower energy efficiency than their newer equivalents, and often dumped waste energy (typically in the form of heat or steam) into the atmosphere.  The City is in the final stages of completing the Integrated Energy Project, which replaced many of these key pieces of equipment with newer, more efficient models, and integrates them both physically and using state of the art control systems to recover waste heat from one part of the system to save energy elsewhere.  For example, waste heat from the refrigeration compressors will be used to reduce the energy needed to heat pool water or for dehumidification. The project is expected to save approximately $55,000 in annual utility costs.
• Retrofitted lighting in the four tennis courts at the PRC. The project replaced 61 incandescent 1000 watt bulbs with 320 watt LED fixtures, and is expected to significantly reduce operating costs for the City moving forward. Compared to the incandescent bulbs, the LED fixtures are not only more aesthetically pleasing, but provide longer lifespan, use approximately 60 per cent less energy, and double the illumination levels on the playing surface.
• Installed a new high efficiency chiller at the PRC which will annually save close to $11,000 in electricity costs.
• Retrofitted Delaney and O'Brien ice rink lighting with LED lights, providing brighter, crisper ice time. The enhancements resulted in combined annual electricity savings of over $32,000.
• Retrofitted the pool lighting at the PRC to save 27,945kWh annually.
• Completed a 100kW solar photovoltaic project at the Claremont Community Centre, installed under the FIT 2.0 program. This green energy initiative is a joint partnership between Veridian Connections, Queen Street Solar Co-operative and Solera Sustainable Energies Company in cooperation with the City of Pickering. Some of the revenue generated by the sale of the electricity will help fund the City's Green Initiative Fund which focuses on future green projects. Check out the solar project's performance today via this live feed.
• Installed new energy efficient air handling units with variable frequency drives and automation controls in 14 locations.
• Upgraded the heating plant at East Shore Community Centre, installed a new high efficiency condenser boiler, pumps with variable frequency drives, and integrated the facility into the Energy Management System.
• Upgraded the Computerized Energy Management System and introduced it at most facilities.
• Replaced lighting at City Hall, annually saving $50,000 in energy costs and over 400 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Replaced windows at West Shore Community Centre.
• Installed high-efficiency LEDs (light-emitting diodes) in all City traffic lights.
• Fitted motion sensor detection on the squash court lights at the PRC.
• Installed new HVAC system motors with variable frequency drives at City Hall, the Recreation Complex, and West Shore Community Centre, saving a total of 240,429 kWh/year of energy.
• Replaced the backup boiler and humidification system at City Hall, annually saving 55 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Installed a green roof at the Pickering Recreation Complex and Don Beer Arena. A white roof was installed and lighting replaced at East Shore Community Centre.

Street Lighting LED Conversion Project: We are converting our existing high pressure sodium (HPS) and mercury vapour street light luminaires, to energy-efficient LED lighting. LEDs use a Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting technology, and have many advantages over traditional lighting such as lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, and faster switching. They also provide other benefits like enhanced visibility and reduced light pollution. More than 7,000 street lights will be replaced this year. We expect this effort to save the City $456,000 in annual energy costs, and $235,000 in annual maintenance costs, for a combined annual savings of approximately $691,000.

Developed Seaton Community Streetlight Guidelines: Guidelines have been prepared to guide the development industry in the design, construction and installation of a LED streetlight system.  The City has adopted LED lighting technology as its recommended technology for new and existing infrastructure. The Guidelines take into consideration dark sky and nuisance lighting issues, as well as the ability to implement adaptive control technologies.

Improving operations: The City has been investing in battery powered property maintenance tools such as line trimmers, hedge trimmers, handheld blowers, and a chainsaw. The system comes with small batteries for quick jobs and a backpack battery bank with an 11 hour run time for longer tasks. This equipment is exhaust and emission free and produces less noise than traditional equipment, ensuring that staff can complete their duties without taking away from resident's enjoyment of park spaces. Staff are also investigating a solar charging station to recharge the battery packs offline in order to further reduce emissions.

Solar LED Park Lights: The City installed solar-powered LED lights in the parking lots at Grand Valley Off-Leash Dog Park, Kinsmen Park and J.McPherson Park. The benefits of LED solar lights include energy savings, enhanced safety and security. Also, the lights are motion-activated and can be controlled remotely to allow for optimal light and extended battery life.