Project Profile Town of Riverview opts for biomass-fuelled operations centre By Andrew Snook 2013, the Town of Riverview, a suburb of Moncton, N.B., had a workspace problem. The town’s public works garage needed to be replaced with a larger, more functional workspace for the town’s Department of Engineering and Department of Public Works and Parks. The town identified the need for the new facility in its 2013 Strategic Planning process and was able to approve the $16.6 million needed for the construction of the new facility in its budget in 2015. In August 2015, the town broke ground on the construction of the new 57,535-sq.-ft. facility. In the fall of 2016, construction on the new Riverview Operations Centre was complete, which Green operations included administration space for municipal staff – which can be upwards of 62 people, depending on the time of year – and storage for the Parks and Facilities’ vehicle and equipment fleet. In addition to the main building, the project included the construction of an 11,744-sq.-ft. salt and sand shed, and an 8,159-sq.-ft. cold storage building for construction materials. Foulem Construction was awarded the contract to build the facility. GREEN HEATING In The town had a variety of energy options but was interested in green energy solutions. During the design phase with Exp Engineering, the prime building consultant, a lease-to-own energy arrangement was determined to offer the best overall solution. The town was able to exclude the boiler system from their cost, forgo the operation, maintenance and long term liability of the heating plant, and pay metered energy price more than competitive to other fuel sources. The lease to own arrangement provided a wide range of flexible alternatives for the future. The energy lease tender encouraged local interest, from mechanical contractors, energy suppliers, and engineering organizations. Design Built Mechanical of Charlo, N.B. submitted the winning tender, together with their engineering partner, MCW. The design included a biomass-fuelled system with a Viessmann Pyrot The biomass system was completed with a 40-ton wood chip storage building, offering weeks of peak load operation in the winter. 16 Canadian BIOMASS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
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