Using the Extraordinary Circumstance (Emergency) Purchases provision of the Purchasing By-Law, a contract to replace methane gas boosters at the North Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant has been awarded to Metcon Sales and Engineering in the amount of $105,610.
It was determined following the annual methane gas inspection that the methane gas boosters at the facility were “No longer safe to operate and had to be taken out of service immediately.”
City councillor Chris Mayne supported the decision and based on the energy savings the boosters generate, he called it a “very good investment.”
“At the Water Treatment Plant for anyone who has driven along Memorial Drive, they have probably noticed how we flare off the methane. That is that burning torch,” said Mayne.
The boilers operate with the more expensive natural gas when the methane gas system is not functional.
“That same methane production in the winter months provides heat to the 12 buildings at the treatment plant. Without the use of the methane, it would cost us about $50,000 per month for heating,” said Mayne.
When the methane gas system is functional, that cost is virtually zero.
“The challenge has been that the methane gas boosters that we have in the system right now are beyond the end of life, and not safe to use any more. So, for a little more than $100,000 we’re replacing them but based on the energy savings that they generate, it is a very good investment,” said Mayne.
“Another added advantage to it is, methane as a greenhouse gas is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. So, by burning off the methane, which is what we also do at the Merrick Landfill site, we actually destroy the methane. It is one of the most significant things we do to reduce our greenhouse carbon footprint in the community.”
