Leading by example in the global fight against climate change, the Government of Canada and Innovate Energy are fundamentally changing how to heat and cool federal buildings in the Capital.

In 2019, Innovate Energy closed a 35-year contract with the Government of Canada to modernize, maintain, and operate the National Capital Region District Energy System (NCR DES), a central heating and cooling system that provides services to 80 federal buildings, connected together by underground pipes.

Through a program called the Energy Services Acquisition Program (ESAP), Innovate Energy and the Government of Canada are working to modernize the NCR DES by 2026, making it one of the greenest of its kind and scale in North America. In 2021, the project was ranked the 23rd largest infrastructure project in Canada. The result will be reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, cost savings, and improved safety.

As one of North America’s first conversion of a large public district energy network from steam to a low-temperature hot water (LTHW) electrical system with electric chillers for cooling, ESAP represents one of the Government of Canada’s most impactful initiatives to reduce GHG emissions from its operations.