MEDIA ADVISORY: To help communities accelerate their Thermal Energy Network projects, QUEST Canada is holding a two-day workshop in Hamilton

Attn: Municipal Affairs, Energy, Technology & Environment Assignment Editors

To help communities accelerate their Thermal Energy Network projects, QUEST Canada is holding a two-day workshop in Hamilton

WHO – QUEST Canada (with participation from Halton Region, Niagara Region, City of Pickering, City of Toronto, City of Waterloo, York Region, and City of Hamilton.)

WHAT – A Thermal Energy Network Project Accelerator Workshop [see program]

WHERE – Art Gallery of Hamilton, 123 King St. W., Hamilton, Ontario

WHEN – Monday, September 28, and Tuesday, September 29 – 9am to 5pm.

WHY – Moving from community Thermal Energy Network (TENs) ambitions to cutting the ribbon on a real-world project is one of the biggest challenges facing Canadian municipalities, working toward a cleaner future in these rapidly changing yet opportune energy development times.

QUEST Canada’s TENs Project Accelerator Workshop in Hamilton will bridge that gap, by offering communities – those actively exploring district energy, waste heat recovery, geo-exchange, or heat pump-based systems – practical tools, tailored coaching, and direct access to funding and technical experts.

Through hands-on sessions, participants will work to advance their own local energy project concepts – refining scopes, strengthening financial strategies, setting priorities, and identifying clear next steps.

For more information, please see backgrounder below, and visit the event page to see the workshop’s presenters, and line-up of Subject Matter Experts in energy transition project management, policy, and finance.

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For interviews – ahead of the event, or onsite – contact:

Donald Wiedman
Senior Lead, Communications
e: dwiedman@questcanada.org
t: 647-669-0461

Backgrounder – Thermal Energy Networks in Canada

Source: Building Decarbonization Alliance

• Thermal Energy Networks (TENs) are energy infrastructure for delivering heating and cooling to multiple buildings through shared underground piping.
• In the right context, they may offer a complementary alternative to traditional heating and cooling approaches.
• Despite their promise – and with over 250 systems already installed and working across the country, and growing momentum particularly in urban centers and northern communities – TENs serve only 3% of Canada’s heating and cooling demand.
• Beyond the building-by-building level, TENs have potential for high performance, economies of scale, and reduced community impact on peak electricity demand.
• While TENs are not inherently low-carbon, they enable significant emissions reductions over time when paired with clean energy sources.
• Thermal Energy Networks have the capacity to leverage multiple available sources of clean heat, including ambient, ground and waste heat, electricity, RNG and biomass.
• Around the world, particularly in Europe, TENs local and economic benefits have proven to be the more immediate driver of project implementation than carbon reductions.
• With heat pumps being the most promising tool in Canada for reducing emissions from building heating, TENs (which can rely on heat-pumps) can be an important complement to that net-zero pathway.
• The project planning approaches that facilitate TENs project implementation can also help foster a better managed, more affordable overall community energy transition.
• In Canada, regulatory uncertainty, a lack of standardized planning tools, and the complexity of coordinating multiple stakeholders are all holding Thermal Energy Networks projects back from reaching their potential.

About QUEST Canada

QUEST Canada is a registered Canadian charity, whose mission is – since 2007 – to encourage, assist, and enable communities to contribute to Canada’s net-zero goals.

Media Contact

To set up an interview, please contact:

Donald Wiedman
Senior Lead, Communications

t: 647-669-0461
e: dwiedman@questcanada.org