Powering our future: Insights into Canadian energy and power plants’ sustainability practices
While Canadian power and energy plants face many challenges when transitioning to a lower-carbon energy system, they are also being presented with a huge opportunity to become global leaders in adopting innovative technologies. In this blog, we explore how Alfa Laval can help Canada’s energy industry save dramatic amounts of energy and reduce carbon emissions.
DATE 2024-07-26
Given Canada’s extreme temperatures, vast landscape and dispersed population, it’s no wonder we use a lot of energy. In fact, about 80% of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the production and consumption of energy, mostly from the combustion of fossil fuels needed for electricity generation.
While there are a lot of challenges involved in transitioning to a lower-carbon energy system, Canadian energy and power plants have a huge opportunity to be a global leader in adopting innovative technologies.
This blog will explore how Alfa Laval can help Canada’s energy industry save dramatic amounts of energy and reduce carbon emissions.
Mapping the green transition
How are Canadian industries investing and working towards sustainability goals? Find out in our eBook "Mapping the green transition: Benchmarking progress in Canada’s manufacturing and industrial sectors."
Who Did We Survey?
Of those we interviewed across Canada working in power and energy plants, 40% were located in Quebec, followed by Alberta at 21%. Ontario was next at 19%, followed by Manitoba at 13%. Only 4% were from British Columbia and 2% from Saskatchewan. No respondents were from the Atlantic region.
Regarding respondents' positions, 28% identified as Plant Operations Managers and 17% were C-suite members. Both Plant Engineering Managers and Plant Managers accounted for 15% of respondents. Maintenance Managers made up 11% of our respondents, while Plant Maintenance Managers and Process Engineers tied at 6% each. Only 2% reported working as a Sustainability Director or Manager.
Sustainability Practices: A Breakdown
Not surprisingly, Canadian energy and power plants are serious about sustainability, with 89% reporting they have sustainability goals in place. Only 9% said they didn’t and 2% said they weren’t sure. Of those with a plan in place, 71% said they were investing in new equipment, 64% are focusing on employee training and 33% are optimizing processes.
When we asked for more details on how these plants were optimizing their processes, 36% said that overall efficiency was their focus and another 36% cited a variety of other optimizations as the core of their strategy. Investments in new technologies and sustainability tactics were tied at 21% as a focus for improvement and effective channelizing and optimizing assessments were tied at 7%.
Strategies to Increase Sustainability
We then asked energy and power plants which sustainability strategies they were pursuing. 67% said they were focused on improving their waste reduction and recycling programs, followed by water conservation initiatives (55%), energy efficiency improvements (52%) and use of renewable energy sources (41%).
How else are respondents optimizing their processes?
Energy reducing programs
- 60% are reclaiming waste thermal energy
- 52% are reducing electrical energy consumption
- 48% are switching to renewable or less carbon-intensive energy sources
- 45% are reducing energy thermal consumption
Waste energy recovery
- 62% are recovering waste energy
- 36% are not recovering waste energy
- 2% aren’t sure how they’re recovering waste energy
Waste energy reuse
- 75% are reusing waste energy
- 23% are not reusing waste energy
- 2% aren’t sure how they’re reusing waste energy
Wastewater reclamation
- 60% are focusing on water reduction strategies
- 60% are focusing on water recovery strategies
- 60% are focused on water reclamation for other parts of their business processes
High performance, reliability and uptime
With the right equipment, Alfa Laval can help steam cycle or combined cycle power plants improve efficiencies by more than 60%.
Challenges and Barriers to Sustainability Goals
60% of our respondents said regulatory compliance issues were their main obstacle to sustainability progress, while 49% said financial constraints were their biggest hurdle to overcome. Lack of awareness or understanding of sustainable practices was cited by 43% as their top obstacle and 40% said technological limitations were holding their sustainability progress back.
These challenges are easier to overcome when you partner with Alfa Laval. Across the world, we help energy and power plants implement cleaner energy solutions and maximize sustainability through our expertise in:
District Heating
Alfa Laval's plate heat exchangers, known for their energy efficiency, aid in district heating procedures. Our range of plate heat exchangers simultaneously reduces carbon emissions and lessens the need for primary energy sources.
District Cooling
District cooling can significantly reduce environmental impact by eliminating the need for individual chillers in every building. Our plate heat exchangers offer cost savings, improved energy efficiency and top-notch cooling performance.
Clean Energy
Alfa Laval can help customers transition to cleaner energy with a wide range of advanced heat transfer and separation technologies including clean hydrogen, fuel cells, Power-to-X, biofuels, carbon capture, concentrated solar power and more.
Circular Economy
Thanks to our unique understanding of separation and thermal technologies, Alfa Laval has led the development of new solutions to advance the circular economy, helping optimize production processes for reliability and sustainability.
Energy Efficiency
What’s more sustainable than energy that hasn’t been produced in the first place? At Alfa Laval, we believe energy efficiency is our ‘first fuel’ for decarbonizing the future, and many of our solutions focus on reducing waste energy.
Crude Oil Refinery
From the process design phase to installing equipment to optimize your refinery, Alfa Laval understands what it takes to stay competitive in today’s refinery business while improving energy efficiency.
Nuclear Power
Exceptionally demanding, safety-critical industries like nuclear power need Alfa Laval's extensive end-to-end knowledge and long-term experience, in addition to reliable, energy-efficient equipment.
Sustainable Partnerships
In addition to our technical expertise, Alfa Laval believes collaboration is the key to accelerating sustainability, and we offer the solutions and support you need to help your business grow and achieve its full sustainable potential.
Power Your Sustainability Practices with Alfa Laval
As much as 50% of today’s potential for energy efficiency saving comes from the industrial sector. Partnering with Alfa Laval gives you the advantage thanks to our innovative solutions and deep industry knowledge.
It’s our mission to help your plant tackle the main obstacles to energy efficiency, make use of your untapped potential, and accelerate your transition to a decarbonized future.
Contact one of our experts and learn how we can help reduce your energy consumption and increase sustainability and profitability.