The National Research Council of Canada is undertaking energy efficiency upgrades at facilities in Halifax NS and St. John’s NL, and it has awarded a contract for the work to Ameresco Inc.

The $3.9 million project is expected to result in annual utility cost savings of more than $300,000 and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The facility upgrade is to be done in 2017.

“This project supports building improvements that are expected to deliver energy cost-savings allowing NRC to continue their R&D initiatives which are of strategic importance and economic value to Canada,” said Bob McCullough, president at Ameresco Canada.

Under the energy savings agreement, planned measures to optimize efficiency include: lighting retrofits and installation of energy-efficient lighting; building automation system enhancements; ventilation improvements; laboratory refrigeration, freezer and environmental chamber consolidation and upgrades; fume hood system optimization, and water consumption reductions.

The environmental benefits from this project include the reduction of up to 590 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalents, which is equal to removing 114 passenger vehicles from the road annually. In addition, the project can support other unique savings benefits including 1.024 MWh and 164 kW of electricity, 10,223 gigajoules of steam, and 14,154 cubic meters of city water each year.

Work at NRC’s Atlantic Canada research facilities is part of a larger project with Ameresco. This includes work at three buildings in Ottawa valued at $5.4 million that are nearing completion. This project will bring the total utility savings achieved to approximately $2.3 million annually once completed.

This is the third project on which NRC has worked with Ameresco. In 2008, Ameresco completed work on its first NRC project, a $3.7 million initiative resulting in annual utility savings of $483,000. The second was a $9.3 million project, with annual utility savings of more than $993,000, at 100 Sussex Drive in Ottawa.