The Hope and Area Recreation Centre is getting much-needed upgrades.
The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) recently announced the federal and provincial governments have awarded the recreation centre a $2 million grant to upgrade its heating and cooling system. According to the FVRD, the systems were close to the end of their useful life.
The grant comes through the joint federal-provincial investment program called the CleanBC Communities Fund in an effort to support green energy, clean transportation and increased energy efficiency.
The existing systems would be replaced by a heat recovery system that draws heat away from the ice-making process in the arena and pumps it to the other buildings and the pool, making for an efficient air and temperature regulation cycle; it would virtually end the need for natural gas at the recreation centre and substantially cut down on its carbon footprint and energy use by 90 per cent. As an added bonus, this project replaces the need to use ammonia as a refrigerant, making the process safer.
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The project is expected to reach completion by 2025.
“The residents of Hope and the Fraser Valley will have an improved, more energy-efficient community recreation centre thanks to this provincial investment in collaboration with local and federal partners,” George Heyman, B.C. minister of environment and climate change strategy, said. “Through CleanBC, we are fighting climate change by making buildings more efficient to reduce pollution and create a cleaner, stronger future for everyone.”
“This is an exciting opportunity to demonstrate the FVRD’s leadership and commitment to sustainability,” FVRD board chair Jason Lum said.
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