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Water from the depths of Lake Ontario is used to cool more than 100 buildings in Toronto.
Deep on the surface of the scenic Lake Ontario, is Toronto's most valuable renewable energy-cold water. Since water has its highest density at 39°F (4°C) and sinks to the bottom, it can be a stable source of frozen water for deep lake cooling (DLWC). A very successful DLWC system now provides fresh and soothing air temperature for many hospitals, data centers, education parks, government buildings, and commercial and residential buildings in Toronto.
The idea behind the technology is not complicated: instead of focusing on energy-intensive compressors and coolers to dissipate heat from buildings, DLWC uses water from nearby Lake Ontario to take away the heat. This is a sustainable, low-carbon and energy-sharing system.
Connecting to the network can reduce water consumption and operating costs, provide more predictable energy costs, and increase building resilience. The environmental benefits are also profound; the system currently replaces 55 megawatts of energy from Toronto's grid each year.
The result of deep lake water cooling is less energy consumption and a significant reduction in water consumption than other sources. The system was very successful, saving the city 90,000 megawatt-hours of electricity each year, equivalent to the energy needed to power a town with 25,000 people. It is estimated that by 2050, 30% of the city's building area will achieve low-carbon heating and cooling.
The original DLWC system was completed in 2004 to provide energy to limited customers in the city. However, the system became so popular that Toronto’s DLWC system almost reached capacity, cooling more than 100 downtown buildings, such as City Hall, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto General Hospital, various hotels, and a beer factory.
Enwave owns and operates Toronto's DLWC system and shares infrastructure with Toronto's water company. New York City and Enwave operate under an existing Energy Transfer Agreement (ETA), which facilitates the transfer of cooling energy from New York City’s drinking water infrastructure to Enwave’s district energy supply through heat exchangers.
This partnership is an important part of TransformTO, which outlines the path to net zero emissions in Toronto. This approach includes a set of long-term low-carbon goals and strategies to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions, improve urban health, develop the economy, and improve social equity. On October 2, 2019, the city council voted unanimously to declare a climate emergency, accelerate efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and adopt a stronger net zero emission reduction target by 2050 or earlier. Toronto's greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 were 38% lower than in 1990.
The deep-water lake cooling system occupies a prominent place in the TransformTO plan because it has saved 90,000 megawatt hours of electricity each year—about enough to power a town with 25,000 people. Energy saving is about 90%, and since the required cold water is available throughout the year, there is no need for supplemental cooling.
It is so popular that the city has almost reached capacity and recently promised an expansion that could reach 100 million US dollars. "This is a huge investment," Enwave president Carlyle Coutinho told the Washington Post, adding that "maintaining business growth without increasing base load will be challenging."
Traditional commercial water cooling systems usually use towers that evaporate water as a means of heat dissipation. DLWC avoids this evaporation, and Enwave estimates that the Toronto system can save approximately 220 million gallons of water each year—the equivalent of 350 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
How does the DLWC system bring so many energy-saving effects to Toronto?
To make the DLWC system very suitable, certain parameters need to be set.
Location: Shallow, sloping sea shelves do not work because their systems cannot effectively locate them.
Requirements: Although attractive to many communities, the DLWC system must have enough applications to justify the system.
Upfront investment: the cost is high. Cornell University’s lake water cooling system cost 58.5 million U.S. dollars. However, it provides universities with a cooling method that can eliminate any future problems with the use of refrigeration equipment and related energy, the impact of energy use on the environment, and the new generation of refrigerants intended to replace CFC. The City of Toronto invested $170 million in its project.
Other methods of using deep water are in the research phase; one is called brine air conditioning. Salt water air conditioning (SWAC) uses the ocean instead of lake water as a coolant. The technique is divided into two parts. First, the salt needs to be dissolved in water, and then it must be regenerated so that it can be used repeatedly. This method is also problematic because it often uses ammonium nitrate, which is classified as a hazardous substance.
Images retrieved from NOAA/open source
Carolyn Fortuna (them, they), PhD, is a writer, researcher, and educator who has devoted his life to ecological justice. She has won awards from the Anti-Defamation League, the International Literacy Association, and the Levy Foundation. Carolyn is a small investor in Tesla. Please follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
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