For the past few years, both residential and commercial customers in Ontario have felt the impact of steadily climbing electricity rates. Many companies, including Walker, have pondered about what could be done to ease the burden of these skyrocketing prices, which are only forecasted to increase.
Demand on the provinces electrical grid is so high, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) offers incentives encouraging companies to complete projects that would help reduce their electricity consumption, like the Save On Energy – Process and Systems Upgrade (PSU) program that Walker Industries took part in.
Striving to be an environmental leader in the communities in which they operate, Walker is driven by the innovative thinking of its employees who came up with an idea to use landfill gas from their East and South Landfills to power their Niagara Campus.
About 5 years ago, a detailed engineering study suggested by Niagara Peninsula Energy Conservation & Demand Energy Advisor and funded by the IESO’s PSU program analyzed the technical and economic feasibility of installing a reciprocating engine fueled by landfill gas to provide one megawatt of power to the Niagara Campus. Together, with its partner Comcor Environmental, Walker began working on the project in 2020. The Landfill Gas to Energy project was commissioned in the summer of 2021 and is now fully operational. The new genset will produce approximately six million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, reducing electrical consumption at Walker’s Niagara Campus by nearly 60 per cent.
President & CEO Brian Wilkie of Niagara Peninsula Energy (NPEI) states, “our local utility has been proud to partner with Walker Industries over the years on a number of energy conservation projects. Walker Industries continues to be a leader in environmental and sustainability practices. This project is one of the largest conservation efforts in the Niagara Region and NPEI will continue to assist Walker Industries with their energy management goals.”
In addition to saving on electricity, this important incentive enabled Walker Industries to further green the electricity grid, continue to lower its carbon footprint and improve public awareness of sustainable practices and renewable energy projects.
About Walker Industries:
Walker Industries is a fifth generation, family-owned Canadian company that has operated from its base in the Niagara region for over 130 years. With facilities across Canada and the United States, the company employs more than 1,200 people in environmental waste management and recovery, renewable energy, paving and construction, aggregates, and emulsions. For more information about Walker, visit walkerind.com.
