Photo credit: CBC
An energy company based in Toronto uses cold water from the depths of Lake Ontario to cool several buildings downtown.
CBC reports that Enwave Energy Corporation is expanding its system, which will save 350 Olympic-size swimming pools’ worth of water.
The corporation announced the expansion of its deep lake water cooling system at a news conference on Thursday. The system has existed for 20 years, and the expansion began in 2021. It involves putting a three-kilometre pipe into Lake Ontario and drawing in water at temperatures of 4 C through a new tunnel about 90 metres below the surface to the company’s John Street Energy Centre.
The system already services over 100 buildings downtown, including the Toronto Dominion Centre, Fairmont and entertainment York Hotel and The Well, as well as hospitals, residential buildings, data centres and entertainment venues.
The company estimates the expansion will save 832 million litres of water annually. The project is reported to have passed through all environmental assessments.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said the expansion is good news.
