Cover
Story
BLUE
SKIES
FOR
DOCKSIDE
GREEN:
BIOMASS GASIFICATION HEATS HARBORFRONT COMMUNITY
Dejan Sparica,Vice President and Chief Engineer, Nexterra Systems Corp.
Cyclists crossing the Johnson Street Bridge heading out of
downtown Victoria, British Columbia, quickly find themselves riding along a piece of the city’s historic waterfront known as the
Galloping Goose Trail. Named for a gawky, noisy gas rail car that
carried passengers there in the 1920s, the trail passes directly in
front of a development
that many believe to
be the future of sustainable urban living.
Dockside Green,
as the community is
known, is hailed as
one of the most ambitious developments in
North America adhering to a strict building
code based on environmental, social and
economic responsibility. Built on 15 acres
reclaimed from a former brownfield site, it
is the largest development of city land in
Victoria’s history and a
showcase of environ-
mentally friendly materials and sustainable design. Each building
to be constructed at Dockside Green will in fact be designed to
achieve the LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) Platinum rating.
This innovative green project is anchored by a unique district
energy system based
on advanced biomass
gasification technolo-
gy. Commissioned in
July 2009, the system
enables Dockside
Green to self-generate
clean, low-cost heat
using locally sourced
wood fuel to help
achieve the develop-
er’s goal of carbon
neutrality. The biomass
gasification plant has
been instrumental in
bringing a great deal
of national and inter-
national recognition
to Dockside Green,
including selection by
the Clinton Climate
The first two residential phases of Victoria’s Dockside Green are now occupied. The first phase, encom-
passing four buildings, earned LEED Platinum with a world-record-setting 63 out of 70 possible points.
Courtesy Nexterra Systems Corp.
