Southridge School officials are hoping a new gadget being added to the facility this month will help reduce the school’s greenhouse gas emissions for the foreseeable future, and inspire its community to go the extra mile for the environment.
As part of a pilot program, FortisBC is installing a carbon-capture unit at the South Surrey school. The technology can enable commercial customers to reduce their CO2 emissions by up to 5,400 kilograms per unit per year, according to a news release.
“Our goal is to ensure our customers have access to technologies that can lower greenhouse gas emissions in sustainable and affordable ways,” Bea Bains, FortisBC’s manager of energy products and services, said in the release.
Attaching to the school’s two natural gas hot water tanks, the unit captures CO2 emissions that would otherwise be vented into the atmosphere. Those diverted emissions are then turned into potassium carbonate; a mineral and solid byproduct that is used in making pharmaceuticals and soap, as well as in glass manufacturing.
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Head of School, Drew Stephens, said the hope is that the unit will inspire students to learn more about ways to reduce the school’s environmental footprint. It will “provide a valuable learning opportunity for our K-12 students,” he said.
“As part of our school’s strategic plan, Southridge has developed a comprehensive Environmental Stewardship Plan that provides direction for our community to enhance its awareness of how our practices, routines, and habits impact our planet,” Stephens told Peace Arch News by email.
“We’re very excited to add this pilot project with FortisBC to the list of our environmental initiatives.”
It’s hoped the first soap will be created “in the next few months,” he noted.
The carbon-capture unit will also save energy by capturing and redistributing heat around the building.
According to FortisBC, the total energy consumption can be decreased by up to 10 per cent, depending on the size of boiler, hot water tank or furnace it is attached to. School officials say exactly what kind of cost savings Southridge will realize won’t be known until the unit has been running “for a few months.”
The unit at Southridge was 100 per cent funded by FortisBC. The school is the seventh Lower Mainland location to receive the technology through the pilot program.
tracy.holmes@peacearchnews.com
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