'Energy of the Future' Flows into Downtown Toronto

Air cooled by the frigid waters deep in Lake Ontario started bringing relief to buildings in downtown Toronto after valves were opened on the multi-million-dollar Deep Lake Water Cooling Project, the Globe and Mail Update reported.

After six years in the works, the project is expected to cool significant parts of downtown Toronto by next summer.

Enwave, co-owned by the City of Toronto and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, will draw cold water from far out in the lake, using three intake pipes 83 meters below the surface to collect fluid that is barely above freezing.

The cold of the water will be extracted in the John St. Pumping Station and used to lower the temperature in downtown buildings. The water will then be treated and enter the city's drinking supply.

"This is truly the energy of the future, available today," Enwave president Dennis Fotinos said Tuesday.

According to Fotinos, "[This is] clean, renewable, reliable energy. Compared to traditional air-conditioning, Deep Lake Water Cooling reduces electricity use by 75 per cent and will eliminate 40,000 tones of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking 8,000 cars off of the streets of Toronto."

The company stated that they have the capacity to air condition 100 office buildings or 8,000 homes, or the equivalent of 32 million square feet of building space. They note that the cooling system reduces energy usage, freeing up megawatts from the Ontario's electrical grid, minimizes ozone-depleting refrigerants and reduces the amount of carbon dioxide entering the air.

Source: Globe and Mail Update