CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – The Strathcona Gardens Recreation Complex hopes to launch its new rink refrigeration system by 2019.
A year after three workers died in Fernie, B.C. due to an ammonia leak, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) is working to switch from ammonia refrigeration to carbon dioxide (CO2) solutions to help freeze their rinks.
Gavin Hamblin, manager of arenas and facility operations, said the SRD received a $4.6 million grant from the Strategic Priorities Fund for an energy recovery project, which he said has helped them look at other approaches to saving energy, including using CO2 to refrigerate the arenas.
Hamblin said the SRD launched a study during the facility revitalization project during the summer to see how they would be able to use the grant effectively.
“Some of the recommendations that came back from the engineer were heavy modifications to the ice plant, and one being the replacement of it altogether with the CO2 solution,” Hamblin said. He added the SRD board approved the recommendations, and they have been working towards the changes since then.
Hamblin added that other facilities across the province are looking to reduce the risks associated with ammonia refrigeration systems, but that the rinks at the Strathcona Gardens Recreation Complex are on track to be the first to use a CO2 system.
“We’re trying to have the solution ready for installation at our normal arena shutdown, which is between mid-April and mid-May. We pull out the two different arenas at different times… as we pull out those arenas, we’ll begin demolition and construction.”
He said they hope to have the sheets installed and ready to go when the rinks open again during their normal operational time in early August.
There is a lot to be done, but Hamblin said they are confident everything will be set in time for 2019.
