Kamloops, BC—The City of Kamloops has signed a pivotal memorandum of understanding with Thompson Rivers University (TRU) and Creative Energy to explore the possibility of connecting the city to a new, low-carbon district energy system.

“The signing of this memorandum of understanding marks a significant step forward in achieving goals laid out by our Community Climate Action Plan,” commented Mayor Ken Christian. “By working together toward a common goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we’re helping to create a healthier community for future generations.”

In January 2022, TRU, an academic and research university, and Creative Energy, a leading district energy developer, partnered to develop a low-carbon district energy system to heat campus infrastructure in Kamloops. In reaching the memorandum of understanding, the City will optimize this planned network and modern, low-carbon technology to bring sustainable energy to residents and students of Kamloops.

“We are proud to be a part of the Kamloops community, educating and engaging with local students for the last 50 years,” said Matt Milovick, TRU’s Vice-President, Administration and Finance. “We are delighted to continue our legacy and impact on future generations with this district energy system, providing an opportunity for the City to tap into a reliable, environmentally friendly solution to meet essential climate action goals.”

The first phase of the low-carbon district energy system is expected to be complete by 2025 and will eliminate over 90% of greenhouse gas emissions from nine TRU-owned buildings in Kamloops.

The second phase will connect the remaining TRU campus and provide the City with a network of renewable infrastructure that can be scaled to serve additional community buildings, such as the Canada Games Aquatic Centre and Tournament Capital Centre. Emitting around 900 tonnes of combined greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, the inclusion of these centres to the Creative Energy system would remove the largest single source of annual emissions from Kamloops’ municipal operations.

“We’re pleased to partner with TRU and the City to bring sustainable energy and environmental stewardship to the people of Kamloops,” said Diego Mandelbaum, Creative Energy’s Vice President, Development. “District energy is an exciting infrastructure strategy for this very reason: it is scalable and can be built upon to bring value to entire communities as well as individual institutions. Expanding our partnership with TRU, our system now has the opportunity to impact city-wide emissions, creating greener, more sustainable communities for future generations.”