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Siemens and Algonquin unveil new Ottawa campus cogen plant

April 26, 2016 | By Anthony Capkun


Algonquin College president Cheryl Jensen and Siemens Canada CEO Robert Hardt tour the college’s new co-generation plant. Photo courtesy Tracy Wall, Algonquin College.

April 25, 2016 – “This project is a game changer in our efforts to maintain our facilities, control our costs, and expand the learning opportunities for our students,” said Cheryl Jensen, president of Algonquin College as she and Robert Hardt, CEO of Siemens Canada, unveiled a new co-generation natural gas power plant at the college’s Ottawa campus.

The organizations also strengthened ties by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that aims to benefit students by providing opportunities to learn in a “living lab for the future of energy systems”.

“This project has become a trendsetter, and we thank Siemens Canada for their creativity and their partnership,” added Jensen.

“Today’s students are tomorrow’s skilled workforce, and strong private-public partnerships like the one between Siemens and Algonquin are vital to enhancing education and research in the energy space, ensuring Canada remains competitive and sustainable,” said Hardt.

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The cogen natural gas plant will generate 2MW of power, which is enough to cover the baseline power needs of the Ottawa campus. The college and Siemens Canada will continue to collaborate on academic programming that aims to maximize experiential learning opportunities for students and lead to new applied research opportunities.

“[This facility] will provide innovations in technology to reduce electricity costs, better manage energy use, and improve the training of the next generation of power workers and energy system innovators,” said Bob Chiarelli, Ontario’s energy minister.

In addition, the college has announced a new graduate certificate program to debut in Fall 2017—Energy Management—which is aimed at students with existing credentials who are looking to further their careers in the energy sector.

PHOTO: Algonquin College president Cheryl Jensen and Siemens Canada CEO Robert Hardt tour the college’s new co-generation plant. Photo courtesy Tracy Wall, Algonquin College.


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