Lake Ontario cools 6 more office towers


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Jul. 6, 2005. 01:00 AM

Lake cools more towers

6 office buildings added to project

Icy water cuts use of air conditioning

LESLIE FERENC

STAFF REPORTER

The big chill is spreading.

Toronto Hydro and Enwave Energy Corp. are pumping $1.6 million into a conservation project that will cool six more downtown office towers using lake water.

Over the next three years, energy-guzzling air conditioning equipment at two Toronto Dominion towers, the Richmond Adelaide Centre, Adelaide Place, 900 Bay St., and the provincial Legislature building will be replaced with a state-of-the-art deep lake water cooling system.

That technology draws icy cold water from 83 metres deep in Lake Ontario to the city's John St. pumping station. It's then used to chill water in a separate system that air conditions office buildings.

Hydro and Enwave are to announce the latest initiative today.

Once the new buildings have switched over, electricity use for air conditioning will be cut by 90 per cent. The energy savings will be enough to power more than 1,100 homes.

As a bonus, lake water cooling will also eliminate 10 tonnes of ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons, which jeopardize the environment and put people's health in peril.

"Not only are we conserving energy, but we're supporting a clean, renewable technology," Hydro president and CEO David O'Brien said, adding the latest project is equivalent to taking 2,600 cars off the road.

It's all part of Hydro's plans to reduce energy consumption at peak times in the city by 2007. Almost $40 million has been set aside for energy conservation programs slated to be complete by then.

About 130 buildings are already on the lake water cooling system, including Air Canada Centre, Metro Toronto Convention Centre south, Toronto Dominion Centre, Royal Bank Plaza and the Steam Whistle Brewery.

In May, Enwave announced it was spending $20 million to expand its lake water system beyond the financial district to cool 10 provincial government buildings in central Toronto in the near future.

Enwave will construct a network of pipes up Bay St. from Wellington St. to Queen's Park.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...id=968350130169

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