There are a number of technologies and products which claim to reduce engine emissions and fuel consumption. These technologies and products include fuel additives, catalysts, engine modifications, auxiliary power systems and other devices. In some cases, the performance claims for these technologies and products are not supported by adequate data. Sometimes the end result is that the variables which cause the claimed reduction in emissions and fuel use are not documented, and thus the underlying basis for the performance of the technology is unclear. To establish market credibility, technology vendors need to base their performance claims on test data which are reproducible and verifiable.

To address this issue, OCETA (through its ETV Canada division), with support from Environment Canada, convened a series of meetings to determine the expectations of stakeholders with respect to testing and verifying the performance of engine/vehicle after-market technologies.

The first meeting, in March 2007, involved a group of experts from recognized testing organizations. The focus was to determine how vehicle/engine technologies and products should be tested and the level of testing needed. Participants included the Emissions Research and Measurement Division (ERMD) of Environment Canada, the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) and Bodycote Materials Testing Canada Inc. These organizations have experience in testing engine emissions/fuel use reduction technologies and verifying performance, as well as in the development of testing protocols.

This was followed by a meeting with a number of municipal fleet managers in April 2007 to obtain their feedback and suggestions regarding the criteria and procedures that should be used for testing and verifying the performance of engine and vehicle after-market devices.

The third meeting, which took place in May 2007, involved engine/vehicle after-market technology vendors. The focus was to review and discuss the results of the previous two meetings and to determine the testing and verification requirements of technology vendors.

The results of these consultations produced a draft "Protocol for Testing and Verifying the Performance of Engine and Vehicle After-Market Technologies" which was presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Municipal Fleet Managers (CAMFM) on May 31, 2007 in Calgary.

The Protocol represents a major step in ensuring a level playing field for fair testing of technologies and products which claim to reduce the environmental impacts of vehicles in Canada. Of particular importance to fleet managers is that the performance verification of the various technologies provides information on which to base purchase decisions.

For additional information contact Andrew Houlson, ETV Canada Assistant Technical Director, OCETA, ahoulson(at)etvcanada.ca

Scarborough’s Centennial College and Regen Energy Inc. have joined forces to test and evaluate REGEN’s new plug-and-play load management device to help commercial customers reduce their electricity demand and save money.

REGEN has developed a patent-pending methodology of dynamically self-organizing electrical equipment to "smooth out" their cumulative electrical demand without the need for external market or pricing signals, nor operator adjustments. This is a ground-breaking application of self-organizing/emergent systems theory in the field of building equipment controls.

REGEN’s small controllers are intended for commercial customers to reduce both electricity consumption and demand charges on their monthly bills. Controllers are attached to loads that cycle on and off, such as compressors, pumps and air conditioners. REGEN controllers communicate wirelessly with each other on a frequent pace to exchange information on loads. Each controller adjusts to its load to continuously "smooth out" the building’s electrical demand without curtailing loads for any abnormally lengthy periods.

Compared to existing conventional building automation systems and equipment retrofit projects, REGEN offers an easy-to-install and affordable option to reduce demand. More significantly, it does not require any ongoing operational effort by the facility manager. Because the system is modular, REGEN controllers can be easily added as a customer’s facility expands.

Supported by a $95,000 grant from the Technology Development Fund of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), REGEN controllers are being installed in pilot facilities and tested under real world conditions. Energy experts at Centennial College’s Applied Research Centre are analyzing baseline and REGEN-controlled equipment load patterns at these pilot facilities to quantify the specific benefits of this novel technology.

Originally printed in OPA’s Technology Development Fund 2007 Program Guidelines. For more information on this fund, visit www.powerauthority.on.ca.

Please contact Jay Mullin, Project Analyst, OCETA at 905-822-4133 ext.238, Email: jmullin(at)oceta.on.ca for more information.

For more information on Regen Energy Inc., e-mail info(at)REGENenergy.com, or visit their website at www.REGENenergy.com.

We would like to remind readers that the Precarn/OCE/OCETA Proof-of-Principle Research Program is open for submissions year round. This program is open to Ontario-based companies with 5-50 employees and revenue between $500,000 and $10 million, who are involved in environmental projects. The lead applicant (company) will involve a university or college in a substantive research role and a beta-site or end user of the technology being developed. The project must involve Intelligent Systems, which encompasses Sensing, Reasoning, Acting and Reacting, and involve a scientific principle or problem that requires proof of operation.

For further details please contact Steve Guerin, OCETA PoP Program Co-ordinator by e-mail at sguerin(at)oceta.on.ca or phone at 905-822-4133 x228.

Stormwater runoff associated with the increase of urbanization is becoming a major contributor to the degradation of water quality. Stormwater runoff from roads and parking areas consists of high sediment load and other associated pollutants, which can have a detrimental impact on the lakes and other receiving watercourses. In September of 2003, Toronto City Council adopted a Wet Weather Flow Management Policy which provides direction on how to manage wet weather flows on a watershed basis. One of the principles of this Policy is that wet weather flow will be managed "at source" as a first priority. Oil and grit separators (OGS) can be effective for treatment of stormwater pollution at its source. There are a range of OGS technologies in the market, however, assessing and selecting the appropriate device requires verification of the device capability in achieving the required performance.

The City of Toronto is in the process of developing a long term program for the monitoring, testing and verification of stormwater treatment technologies, including OGS devices. OCETA, through its ETV Canada division, has identified the possibility of working together with the City of Toronto for defining acceptable performance criteria and related monitoring/testing protocols.

ETV Canada organized and facilitated the stakeholders’ consultation workshop "Working Towards Developing a Test Protocol for Performance Verification of Oil/Grit Separators (OGS) in Stormwater Management Applications" on behalf of City of Toronto, Water Works. The workshop took place over a one-full day period on May 14th, 2007, at the Scarborough Civic Center and was attended by 47 stakeholders.

The focus of the workshop was to present available testing and verification protocols for OGS devices, discuss the challenges in applying these protocols, and share the knowledge and related experiences of vendors, experts and other stakeholders. A collaborative approach was used to give stakeholders an opportunity to be involved in the early-stage development of testing and verification protocols for OGS devices. The overall intent of this approach was to create a level playing field for stakeholder dialogue. As a result of the workshop, the following recommendations were made:

• The development of full scale laboratory testing and verification protocols is required.
• ETV Canada and the City of Toronto should identify institutions (both private and public) that can lend their expertise to the development of the protocols. Knowledge and experience in laboratory testing of OGS devices is available in the private sector, mainly through OGS vendors. Their participation in developing the testing and verification protocol is required.
• Collaboration and co-operation among professional groups in stormwater management should include vendors, academia, private and public institutions, consultants etc.
• There appears to be a lack of appropriate testing facilities within Ontario for full scale laboratory testing. More research on this subject should be done to identify at least one testing facility that could be designated for OGS device testing.
• Water quality objectives for OGS devices should be identified by users before developing the protocols.
• All protocols should be peer reviewed before publishing.
• All information, protocols, decision support tools, and verification results should be accessible to all stakeholders. This could be done by using a web page.
• Collaboration and co-operation among Ontario municipalities is needed to establish a Province-wide technology performance benchmark in this area.

For more information, contact Mona El Hallak, ETV Canada Technical Analyst, OCETA, at Tel: 905-822-4133 ext.239, Email: melhallak(at)etvcanada.ca.

OCETA partnered with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment to develop and deliver a training session for Qualified Persons in Risk Assessment on March 23, 2007 in Toronto. This training session clarified the requirements of Ontario Regulation 153 / 04 under the Environmental Protection Act. It also emphasized the risk assessment practices and reporting needs for practitioners who submit risk assessments to the Ministry under this Regulation. Participants increased their knowledge of the Regulation and networked with key provincial staff. Capacity attendance and positive feedback reinforced the success of the day's activities.

For more information, contact Joanna Hickling, Project Coordinator & Client Services, OCETA, at 905 822 4133 x237, E-mail: jhickling(at)oceta.on.ca.

OCETA, the Canadian Water Network and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) delivered a Technology Transfer Forum on drinking water systems and sewage works in Toronto on March 26, 2007. This event provided the MOE with the opportunity to transfer knowledge regarding technology and engineering that has been obtained through research relationships with stakeholders from the private sector, academia, and federal government. Participants, including municipalities, owners/operators of treatment plants, and consultants were also able to interact in break-out groups where they discussed and identified technology gaps and needs for future research studies on water, wastewater and collection and distribution systems. The Forum generated high interest and the event reached capacity within two days of opening registration. Feedback from participants emphasized the need to continue to identify and test new technologies and approaches to improve the processes used in Ontario's drinking water systems and sewage works.

For more information, contact Joanna Hickling, Project Coordinator & Client Services, OCETA, at 905 822 4133 x237, E-mail: jhickling(at)oceta.on.ca.

The Canadian Brownfields Network in collaboration with the Province of Ontario, is delivering a series of municipal brownfield capacity building workshops. The first was held in the Simcoe-Muskoka area on June 11-12, 2007. This workshop, facilitated and chaired by OCETA, was designed for municipal staff and consultants that work with municipalities in the areas of planning, economic development, and finance. The 1½ day training workshop provided participants with the practical knowledge required to motivate redevelopment initiatives in their community including updates regarding provincial brownfield initatives; related legislative and regulatory developments; successful municipal approaches; financing tools; and decision-making tools. Participants interacted with developers to discuss the steps and timelines involved in redeveloping a brownfield site; how to market brownfield sites; and risks and success factors. Municipalities recognized the importance in being a flexible facilitator and explored ways that developers and municipalities could work better together. Day 1 of this event ended with a networking reception for all participants. Special thanks to our sponsors CMHC, EcoLog ERIS, and OREA for helping to make this event possible. Two more workshops will be delivered on June 25 & 26 in the Golden Horseshoe Area and June 28 & 29 in the National Capital Region.

Visit www.canadianbrownfieldsnetwork.ca/BrownfieldTrainingWorkshops.htm for more information or to register.

Bowne of Canada, a client of OCETA's Toronto Region Sustainability Program, was the winner in the Medium Business Category at the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) Pollution Prevention Awards held in Winnipeg, Manitoba on June 14th, 2007.

Collaborating with employees, vendors and service providers, Bowne installed new technologies, initiated educational outreach activities for employees and established a Sustainability Team. The company worked towards going beyond mere compliance, maximizing its diversion rate away from landfill, utilizing technology to achieve source reductions, minimizing emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and greenhouse gases as well as decreasing consumption of resources such as water and electricity.

For additional information on Bowne of Canada and its participation in the Toronto Region Sustainabiltiy Program, view the case study at www.oceta.on.ca/TORSUS/Bowne.pdf .

We invite readers to explore OCETA's new upgraded ETV Canada web site at www.etvcanada.ca. Recent changes were made to make the site more user-friendly, more informative, better looking and more focused to SMEs that are considering verification of the performance claims of their environmental technology. A FAQs section has been added, as well as a "Benefits of Verification" link. Under the "Verified Technologies" link, the descriptions of the various technologies that have been verified (and currently active) have been added, so that a visitor can quickly review the technologies. A "Funding Sources" link has also been added. This provides a list of aggregators of funding sources in Canada, for companies interested in finding out the most appropriate funding source for their energy or environmental technology being developed. This page also describes the funding that is available from OCETA through its management of the Ontario Research Commercialization Program.

For further information, contact Steve Guerin, ETV Canada General Manager, OCETA at 905-822-4133 ext.228, Email: sguerin(at)oceta.on.ca.

OCETA has the qualifications to assist Canadian industries and businesses in verifying and validating their GHG emissions reductions. OCETA’s staff have completed the Government of Canada’s course on Validation and Verification of GHG emission reductions. Currently, OCETA is working with Technology Early Action Measures (TEAM) and Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). In addition, OCETA has the qualifications to assist Canadian businesses to quantify, validate and verify their offset credits that can be sold to the Canadian GHG offset system upon implementation.

OCETA and SDTC
SDTC finances and supports clean technologies which provide solutions to issues of climate change, clean air, water quality and soil. Two of the most critical links in the innovation chain are development and demonstration in full scale real-world situations. SDTC supports private sector groups that, together, represent the entire supply chain - researcher, product developers, manufacturers, and end product customers. SDTC’s stringent review process before and during the project ensures that its sustainable development goals are met in each project. For additional information on SDTC, visit www.sdtc.ca.

OCETA is a partner in several SDTC-supported consortia. Our role is to assist the groups with issues relating to performance evaluation and validation, in addition to provision of commercialization expertise, such as definition of target markets and business strategy during and after the SDTC project. OCETA assists in monitoring system performance, applying SMART, and preparing the quantitative GHG reduction statements that result from the project.

OCETA and Canada’s GHG Offset System
After implementing the Canadian Offset System, organizations and individuals can earn credits for implementing projects that result in incremental greenhouse gas emission reductions beyond what would have been done under “business as usual” activities. Verified offset credits will be sold to Large Final Emitters (LFEs) or to the government’s Climate Fund.

OCETA can assist with (1) application to register the project (2) validation of the project and (3) verification of emission reductions achieved by the project.

For more information, contact Mona El Hallak, ETV Canada Technical Analyst, OCETA, at Tel: 905-822-4133 ext.239, Email: melhallak(at)etvcanada.ca.

OCETA is a pre-qualified firm with an established Supply Arrangement with Technology Early Action Measures (TEAM) Initiative, a component of the Government of Canada’s Climate Change Action funds. For TEAM projects, the funded firms or consortia are evaluated under the System of Measurements and Reporting for Technologies (SMART). OCETA evaluates greenhouse gases (GHG) documentation and processes, and reports on GHG reductions in TEAM projects that support Canada's climate change goals. OCETA is pre-qualified to evaluate and develop the SMART for TEAM projects in the areas of industrial processes and waste and landfills.

OCETA has developed Project Master Plans (PMP) using SMART for several projects. In addition to baseline identification and justification, GHG quantification, and uncertainty analysis as per SMART, a PMP includes a risk management plan, sensitivity analysis, testing and monitoring plans as well as quality assurance and quality control plan.

OCETA developed a PMP for a novel application of in-situ leach mining technology. The technology is owned by Yava Technologies Inc. of Toronto, Ontario. The process employs a leachant which can be injected and circulated via a well system into a porous ore body. Once circulated through the ore body, the leachant dissolves the minerals in the ore and becomes leachate, and the leachate is sent to a processing facility. Through chemical processes the minerals contained within the leachate are removed and processed into high quality final products. The validation of the project concluded that Yava can anticipate a very significant reduction of GHG emissions which accounts for an approximately 85% reduction in GHG emissions compared to conventional mining processes.

Recently, a PMP was developed by OCETA, in collaboration with the TEAM office for an advanced biogas technology. PlanET Biogas Solutions, of St. Catherines, Ontario, is cooperating with PlanET Biogastechnik in Germany to bring proven advanced biogas technology to Canada. The advanced biogas system has the ability to digest a variety of input recipes (organic feedstock), and operates at a very high load factor. The system features engines which are extremely efficient and operates on a mixture of biogas (95%) and vegetable oil (5%). Moreover, the whole system has an on-line monitoring and control system which can be accessed via the Internet. The environmental benefits of the system are numerous and include generating electric and thermal energy from organics, reducing methane emissions from manure and compost, and reducing odour and weed seed in manure and compost.

This TEAM project demonstrates the implementation of four advanced biogas systems at four different sites. The project will test a variety of feedstock to demonstrate flexibility of the system. The four sites selected for demonstration include poultry farms, greenhouses and a hydroponics facility. The validation of the project concluded that the biogas technology can anticipate a very significant reduction of GHG emissions of more than 10,000 metric tonnes of CO2-eq/year in total from the four sites when compared to business as usual baseline scenario.

Currently, OCETA is developing a PMP for a solvent vapour extraction process that has the potential to extract heavy oil with lower GHG emissions and other environmental impacts.

For more information, contact Mona El Hallak, ETV Canada Technical Analyst, OCETA at Tel: 905-822-4133 ext.239, Email: melhallak(at)etvcanada.ca.

Canada and the United States each have more than a decade of experience in the delivery of their respective national environmental technology verification (ETV) programs. Both countries recognize the value of environmental performance verification as: (i) a market instrument to strengthen the commercialization of environmentally-sound technologies (ESTs); and (ii) a "pre-normative" regulatory support mechanism to overcome implementation barriers and bridge the gap between innovative and conventional technologies, processes and infrastructure.

On May 7th 2007, a meeting took place in Dallas with the US EPA Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program and some of its institutional partners, including the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), Southern Research Institute (SRI), RTI International and Battelle. Canadian representation included OCETA through its ETV Canada division, Environment Canada and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).

The meeting was organized by OCETA to establish a firm basis of understanding on current North American practice in the effective application of environmental performance benchmarking and verification. A principal objective was to identify specific technology areas for Canada/US cooperation where common approaches to technology performance benchmarking and verification can be applied. Immediate areas of interest include air pollution control (APC) and greenhouse gas (GHG) technologies, water quality protection (WQP) technologies, and advanced monitoring systems (AMS). Proposed cooperation includes the identification of relevant performance criteria and the development of test methods, as well as possible collaboration on a range of specific technology verifications.

Each of the points addressed at the meeting are being explored with Canadian partners, as part of an iterative approach, to delineate the specific tasks and next steps for future collaboration, leading up to the first meeting of the International Committee on Environmental Performance Verification (IC-EPV) in Montreal on June 21-22, 2007. The desired outcomes are: (i) the objective validation of innovative technologies and processes to increase market confidence, minimize risk and help legitimate enterprises gain access to the market; and (ii) the streamlining and harmonization of environmental performance in measurement, verification and reporting throughout North America and internationally.

For additional information contact John Neate, Senior Associate, OCETA at Tel: 905-822-4133 ext.230, E-mail: jhneate(at)oceta.on.ca.

An international conference call on Environmental Performance Verification (EPV) took place in February 2007, involving representatives of the European Union (EU), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Environment Canada and OCETA through its ETV Canada division. The purpose was to discuss the creation of an International Committee on Environmental Performance Verification (IC-EPV) in order to facilitate multi-lateral cooperation and information sharing on testing and verification protocols and related quality management systems. It is envisaged that the Committee will:

• Provide a means to engage stakeholders and facilitate international cooperation in support of transparent, environmental performance verification and reporting
• Define an accreditation process for an international network of verification organizations
• Undertake joint co-verifications on international issues of common interest
• Share lessons learned, build alliances and create pathways and modalities for technology transfer between developed and developing countries in support of the UNEP Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity Building
• Assist in the establishment of a level playing field to accelerate the development and deployment of environmentally sound technologies

It is also anticipated that the Committee will investigate the possible application and/or development of an ISO standard for environmental performance measurement, verification and reporting, including a procedure for certifying the quality management systems of verification organizations.

Recognizing the logistical and administrative challenges of international cooperation, it is envisaged that the proposed collaboration will evolve in an iterative, stepwise manner in accordance with the requirements and expectations of the interested parties. Initially, Environment Canada will serve as the Secretariat of the Committee. The first meeting will take place in Montreal on June 21-22, 2007.

For additional information contact John Neate, Senior Associate, OCETA at Tel: 905-822-4133 ext.230, E-mail: jhneate(at)oceta.on.ca.