‘For our children’: Bradford has a plan to boost energy efficiency

Bradford continues to look for ways to go green and save some green in the process.

That was the message from a report by Terry Foran, director of community services, that provided an update on the city’s energy management plan under the provincial Green Energy Act and was approved by council during its regular meeting from June 18.

According to the report, the city continues to be conscious of its environmental impact and energy consumption, with energy in 2023 costing about $2.2 million and an average cost per square meter of energy use lower than the average for municipalities of size and location similar, although those environments were not included.

Foran pointed out to the council that despite the increase in the city’s population and services and the increase in energy prices, the municipality’s energy costs are still in line with costs before the COVID-19 pandemic, starting in about 2016.

“We’ve grown the city, but we’re maintaining the percentage of cost,” he said.

Future projects will include upgrades to the dehumidification system and upper roof at the Bob Fallis Sports Center and upgrades to the water pollution control facility. The upcoming reconstruction of Holland Street is expected to provide opportunities for street lighting improvements similar to a citywide replacement project in 2015, which saw a 45% reduction in energy costs and a 90% reduction in maintenance costs .

The city is also investigating the feasibility and most efficient methods of installing charging stations and electrifying its fleet.

In addition to using energy conservation best practices in existing facilities, Foran explained in the report that the city is also incorporating these practices into the renovation of older buildings, such as the community and social services center, as well as the construction of new facilities, such as the planned town hall.

That seemed to resonate with Mayor James Leduc.

“We want to protect the environment for our children, grandchildren and future generations,” he said.

Examples of existing new construction include the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library and the BWG Recreation Center, both of which include “state-of-the-art” energy efficient systems and controls and are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified.

However, Foran and his team continued to look for more savings, and in 2017 the city began converting all lights in the recreation center to LEDs, resulting in such “aggressive” cost savings, helping the city see a return on its capital investment within two years, according to Foran.

This inspired the city to ensure that all the lights in the recently opened BWG Youth Recreation Center were also LED.

Beyond lighting, the city has taken several energy-saving initiatives since 2015, including replacing the sports center’s HVAC system in 2018, followed by the lower roof in 2023, plus upgrading various blowers, pumps and operating software at the pollution control plant water, to name just a few.

Section 2 Con. Jonathan Scott praised the staff for doing “outrageous work” and explained that work on the city’s climate change adaptation and mitigation strategy will provide even more recommendations for ways the city can reduce energy use and environmental impact .

Section 6 Con. Nickolas Harper also suggested looking at revenue-based waste-to-energy projects and said he may even have something to bring to council in the coming months.

That went down well with the mayor who said he tried to encourage Simcoe County Council to consider waste-to-energy projects as “the future,” and the county will send solid waste for incineration at a facility in Brampton that recaptures energy from the process.

Although not a method of reducing consumption, the city reduces costs by purchasing natural gas through Local Authority Services, a subsidiary of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, which allows collective purchasing at lower rates. According to the report, the city is investigating options to expand this practice to include electricity and fuels.