About Us - Creative Energy

About Us

WE ARE ENERGY DEVELOPERS

OWNER AND OPERATOR OF ONE OF NORTH AMERICA'S LARGEST DISTRICT ENERGY SYSTEMS

OVER 205 CONNECTED BUILDINGS EXCEEDING 45M SQ. FT. OF REAL ESTATE

UNINTERRUPTED SERVICES FOR OVER 55 YEARS

17 NEW SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NORTH AMERICA

WE DECARBONIZE BUILDINGS THROUGH COMMUNITY ENERGY

CREATIVE ENERGY DESIGNS, BUILDS, OWNS, OPERATES, AND MAINTAINS DISTRICT ENERGY SYSTEMS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. WE TURN IDEAS INTO REALITY BY DELIVERING LOW-CARBON DISTRICT ENERGY SYSTEMS THAT CREATE TANGIBLE VALUE FOR PARTNERS, BUILDINGS AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.

Through collaboration and partnerships, Creative Energy designs, builds, owns, operates, and maintains sustainable neighbourhood scale energy systems that support responsible development, business value, and community growth, shaping great cities. Through premier end-to-end service value, we extend the benefits of district energy with rate certainty, quality of service and carbon reduction by utilizing an array of technologies to develop district systems.

We know what it takes to build and operate the next generation of infrastructure that will help our cities meet their energy, climate and resiliency objectives. Creative Energy's projects emphasize urban "place-making", with energy solutions that redefine public spaces to promote better urban design, to enhance quality of life, and to generate new social, cultural and economic opportunities.

TURNKEY DISTRICT ENERGY SOLUTIONS

We turn concepts into reality. Our delivery begins at project conception and continues indefinitely, providing efficient, reliable thermal energy to our customers. Starting with a high-level screening to narrow the field of technology options, we move into a fulsome feasibility study of the shortlisted concepts to optimize our strategy and strike the right balance of resiliency, affordability, and sustainability. Once the path is paved through the front-end analysis, we work alongside our stakeholders through the commercial arrangements, design, and delivery of our district energy systems. Near the end of construction, project commissioning will bridge the development and operational aspects of our projects by proving-out functionality before "going live". While many conventional projects end here, our district energy projects begin their operating phase, where we optimize the plant and distribution system to meet or exceed design parameters and ensure reliability of service, and compliance to regulatory requirements.

Aiming to bring low-carbon district energy to cities across North America, Creative Energy is currently developing 17 new district energy projects with a range of innovative technologies including ocean-exchange, geoexchange, cogeneration/CHP, and microgrids.

Flexible, Scalable Projects

Integrating projects across the value chain to achieve exceptional environmental and economic outcomes.

Maximization of usable building space

Our district energy solutions removes the need for boiler rooms, chiller rooms, cooling towers, and associated shafts within the buildings, allowing building owners to gain full value of their real estate.

Alignment with customers

Providing long term energy security which is at or below market costs, reducing strata reserve funds and operating costs by removing thermal generation assets from within buildings.

Decarbonization of the Built Environment

By leveraging the economies of scales of a district system, we can implement low-carbon technical solutions that are not economical at the building scale.

Avoided Thermal Capital

Helping building developers and owners to remove the cost of boilers, chillers, and cooling towers from the building’s construction budget.

Transparent Collaboration

Creating partnerships and engaging stakeholders to ensure success

Unparalleled technical innovation

Enhancing system reliability, resiliency, and efficiency.

High efficiency boilers and chillers

waste-heat recovery from cooling systems

Ocean loop heat recovery

Ground source geo-exchange

Combined heat and power (CHP)

Urban wood waste / biomass

Energy resilient micro-grids

Sewage heat recovery

Energy storage

Serving District energy needs for over 55 years, Creative Energy’s value proposition is based on a foundation of service reliability, exceptional customer service and continued growth.

1968

Vancouver faced huge problems from the pollution and inefficiencies involved in heating buildings using fuel-oil and coal. Their solution was Central Heat Distribution, BC’s first district energy company.

Central Heat used highly efficient gas boilers to produce steam that was distributed to individual buildings through a network of underground pipes, converting the Vancouver Press building to a centralized natural gas steam boiler plant.

Significantly improving local air quality through the removal of 600 individual boiler stacks, Central Heat established itself as an integral part of the community.

1970

CBC Vancouver connects into the Downtown Vancouver heating network.

1977

Vancouver’s landmark Gastown Steam Clock is built and powered by our system. Today, the clock is powered by electricity, but the whistle remains powered by Creative Energy's central steam plant.

1979

The Vancouver energy system connects to St. Paul's Hospital. Everyday, staff, patients and their families depend on our system's reliability.

1982

The central Vancouver steam system begins to serve Expo Plaza, heating the site of the 1986 World Expo.

The Vancouver energy system provides heat for BC Place, a 50,000-seat multi-purpose stadium, and an official emergency centre during a seismic event or other disaster; a testament to the resilience of our system.

1995

The system also connects to two more Vancouver landmarks, the Vancouver Public Library’s Central Branch and Rogers Arena, home to the Vancouver Canucks.

2009

The Vancouver steam system expands to the Woodward’s redevelopment and to the Vancouver Convention Centre.

2014

New Name, Same Energy: Central Heat rebrands as Creative Energy, which serves 205+ buildings in Vancouver’s downtown core, including landmarks like BC Place, Rogers Arena, and Robson Square Library.

2019

A new office for Creative Energy is established in Toronto.

Construction begins on Mirvish Village in Toronto, Ontario- where a combined heat-and-power district energy system that provides peak demand electricity to the Honest Ed’s redevelopment.

2020

Construction is completed on our innovative ocean-exchange heating and cooling system for the Sewell’s Marina Redevelopment at Horseshoe Bay.

2021

Creative Energy and BC Hydro announce our Decarbonization Project, a partial electrification of our steam generation that is expected to avoid 38,000 tonnes of GHG emissions a year – one of the largest fuel switch projects in Canada.

Creative Energy announces its first project in the United States, working with Seattle hospital, Swedish First Hill, to decarbonize their health campus and creating a thermal network that can serve the surrounding community.

Construction starts on Creative Energy’s low-carbon geo-exchange system at the Oakridge Park redevelopment project – one of the largest geo-exchange projects in Canada.

Kickstarting one of the first geoexchange community energy systems to the Greater Toronto Area, decarbonizing heating and cooling for North Oak, a thriving Oakville neighbourhood.

2022

Creative Energy announces its partnership with Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops to develop a low-carbon heating system for it’s existing campus, as well as for future developments for the campus.

Construction begins at the North Oak development in Oakville- the first community geo-exchange system in Ontario, a system being developed by Creative Energy in partnership with Minto.

Sen̓áḵw District Energy System- Creative Energy announces partnership with the Squamish Nation to develop a sewer heat recovery district energy system at the Sen̓áḵw development, one of the world’s first large-scale net-zero housing projects.

2023

Groundbreaking for the Decarbonization Project commences in the heart of Vancouver, right next to BC Place.

Creative Energy announces its continued expansion into the US, with the opening of our new office in Seattle.

2024

Construction Commences for Vancouver Decarbonization Project- The crane is installed, assembled, and is now fully operational. This significant milestone marks excavation completion and the start of construction, driving the project forward.

Groundbreaking Ceremony at TRU for LCDES- Partnering to achieve a a significant milestone, a step forward in the journey to achieve a zero-carbon campus by 2030.

Our Team

With more than 200 years of collective experience in operating and maintaining district energy systems, our team works closely with customers to ensure efficiency and reliability. Creative Energy assembles exceptional teams to deliver world class systems, engaging in innovative partnerships to manage risks and benefits, provide cost certainty and enhance growth opportunities.