Edmonton International Airport Combined Heat and Power Addition
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EDM Airport Combined Heat & Power Addition
Location
Edmonton, AB
Year Completed
2021

Powering towards a green future.

The Combined Heat and Power (CHP) addition at Edmonton International Airport reflects the aviation industry’s increasing focus on sustainability for buildings that support air travel.

The ultimate goal of the project was to reduce both the airport’s greenhouse gas emissions and the cost of generating heat and electricity via a traditional energy grid – a tangible move toward greater sustainability. CHP units were used because they have a higher net efficiency when compared to the electricity grid. They also support more efficient operations long-term, aligning with the client’s carbon-neutral goals.

Smith + Andersen was engaged as mechanical engineers for this project, ultimately building a long-term relationship with ATCO as well as with the Edmonton International Airport.

Powering towards a green future.

The Combined Heat and Power (CHP) addition at Edmonton International Airport reflects the aviation industry’s increasing focus on sustainability for buildings that support air travel.

The ultimate goal of the project was to reduce both the airport’s greenhouse gas emissions and the cost of generating heat and electricity via a traditional energy grid – a tangible move toward greater sustainability. CHP units were used because they have a higher net efficiency when compared to the electricity grid. They also support more efficient operations long-term, aligning with the client’s carbon-neutral goals.

Smith + Andersen was engaged as mechanical engineers for this project, ultimately building a long-term relationship with ATCO as well as with the Edmonton International Airport.

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EDM Airport Combined Heat & Power Addition
The new CHP facility became operational in 2021 and provides electricity and heat for airport operations from the same source.

Integrating the old with the new.

Our project scope involved interconnecting three additional CHP units with the Central Utilities Plant (CUP) that services the major buildings on site. This posed a challenge for our engineers, as the scope of work necessitated completion while the facility remained operational. We coordinated closely with third-party commissioning agents, as well as the base building engineers, to integrate the plant successfully. Coordinating with the facilities and construction teams to effectively integrate the controls into the existing building infrastructure was essential to the process. The resulting onsite electricity and heat production facility supports airport operations, and is expected to reduce the Airport’s annual carbon emissions by approximately 20 per cent per year, in addition to reducing energy costs.

The project was completed in 2021.

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EDM Airport Combined Heat & Power Addition
We worked with the facilities and construction teams to overcome challenges associated with integrating controls into the existing building infrastructure.