UBC opens clean energy facility

On Thursday the University of British Columbia opened its $34-million clean energy facility, making it the first Canadian university -- and one of a few institutions worldwide -- to produce both clean heat and electricity for its campus from renewable bioenergy. The Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility (BRDF) will generate enough clean electricity to power 1,500 homes and will supply up to 12% of UBC's heat requirements. It will reduce the university's natural gas consumption by 12% and campus greenhouse gas emissions by 9%. UBC researchers, students, and partners will use the 4-storey, 1,900-square-metre BRDF to research, develop, and evaluate bioenergy and other clean energies, processes, and technologies. UBC News Release