John Paul II Catholic Secondary School is to become Canada’s first carbon neutral school.
It is a joint project between the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB), Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), and Ameresco Canada Inc.
It’s going to cost approximately $9.7 million, with the federal government (NRCan) investing $4.5 million and Ameresco fronting the rest of the money.
Ameresco Canada President, Bob McCullough, says they’re investing more than just money.
“We design it, build it, own it, operate it, and maintain it for the period of 25 years.”
McCullough adds that it’s not just a project you can let run by itself. The school won’t have to worry about maintaining the equipment themselves Ameresco’s technicians will do it for them.
The plans to make John Paul II carbon neutral include:
- geothermal heating and cooling
- solar powered carports and roof
- electric vehicle charging stations
- energy storage
Once the project is completed in late 2020 the school will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to near zero and nearly 275 tonnes of carbon pollution per year.
Photo by Tamara Thornton
London M.P. Kate Young says this is exactly the type of project the government wants to undertake to preserve the environment for the future and the she’s hopeful more schools and other buildings will use John Paul II as a model.
“Once completed, John Paul II Catholic Secondary School will become an example of energy innovation in action.”
One unique advantage to this project is that Ameresco and the LDCSB are teaming up to create a parallel curriculum that allows students to learn about the green space they’ll be educated in.
M.P. Peter Fragiskatos says it’s important that today’s youth know about climate change and what can be done about it.
“Young people care about climate change. In every school, in every classroom this issue comes up. The issue of climate change and global warming. Young people are talking about it, young people care about it.”
Students at John Paul II are just as excited as everyone else about this project, expressing that they have been involved from the very first meetings and will continue to be involved with clean energy long after they’re done school.
Everyone from students, to their principal, to government officials agree that this is the first step in the right direction.
McCullough adds that this is just the beginning.
“There’ll be other school boards, other clients, customers wanting to look at how this operates because it’s the way of the future.”
