The City of Guelph has opened an industry leading new parking garage powered entirely by renewable energy sources, making it Guelph’s first energy self-sufficient and self-sustaining parking facility. Supporting the City of Guelph’s commitment to its corporate 100RE target through which all City facilities and operations will use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050, the new garage has 496 stalls, EV charging, accessible stalls and secure bicycle parking. The facility is a Net Zero Energy site with over five hundred solar panels installed on the roof, generating nearly 200,000 kWh/year.
As the first parking garage built in the City of Guelph in over thirty years, the new Market Parkade is positioned to address the emerging issues posed by climate change by depending entirely on renewable energy sources to power its EV charging stations, lights, security and parking access and revenue control equipment. The facility starts with four EV charging stations and has the infrastructure to expand to eighty EV charging stations as consumers’ usage patterns change. Moreover, the facility was built using the CANADACAR Parking Structure System: a pre-engineered, prefabricated building system that utilizes the most advanced, innovative technique of construction resulting in free span modular parking bays. The CANADACAR Parking Structure System offers the following benefits: cost efficient, reduced maintenance costs, driver/pedestrian safe, reduced construction time, increased longevity, greater flexibility and increased volume, all components in reducing the initial and ongoing carbon footprint of the facility and its operation.
The facility was built with a view to the lifecycle cost to maintain the structure. Importantly, the facility was built as the first step in realizing the City of Guelph’s goal of using only 100% renewable energy sources by 2050. The new garage will produce significant cost savings in its ongoing operation and maintenance. From an energy perspective, the facility has a 188kW electrical generation capacity expected to produce 200,000 kWh/year from renewable energy sources. The electricity produced will meet the needs of the facility as well as the annual electricity required to power the four EV charging stations. The City will return any excess electricity to the grid for use in other facilities. This self-sufficiency will save ~$35,000 annually in operating expenses alone.