ZooShare (Finalist.)
Angus Power,
Koenig and Consultants Inc.,
ReGenerate Biogas Inc.,
Riepma Consultants Inc.,
Toronto Zoo
ZooShare Biogas Co-operative Inc. is a non-profit renewable energy co-operative that is developing a 500 kW community-owned biogas plant on the grounds of the Toronto Zoo, turning the Zoo's annual manure output and food waste from GTA-based grocery stores into electricity, heat, fertilizer and cash for the Zoo.
The bulk of the capital needed for the project will be raised from Zoo members and local citizens who support our mission via the issuance of Community Bonds. This allows the project to be controlled by those it will have the greatest impact on, while also allowing individual investors to support the local environment with their retirement portfolios.
ZooShare is helping Toronto on a number of levels - greenhouse gas emission reductions of over 10,000 tonnes per year, reduced risk of groundwater contamination from manure at the site, reduced waste to landfill, financial contributions to the Zoo of at least $50,000 for the next 20 years. The heat produced by the generator will be provided free-of-charge for use in a future greenhouse, which may be used to grow feed for animals, allowing the Zoo to realize additional cost savings.
ZooShare's mission is to be the catalyst for the growth of community-owned biogas plants through education and investment. Visitors to the site will get a chance to get an up-close look at an operational biogas plant, and learn more about the benefits of the technology and community power in general, while annual surpluses will be re-invested in other community-owned biogas plants, exponentially increasing the positive impact we can make.
Through the safe processing of over 3,000 tonnes of Zoo manure and 12,000 tonnes of grocery waste, net greenhouse gas emission reductions will be over 10,000 tonnes per year - the equivalent of taking over 1800 cars off the road. Enough clean energy will be produced to power approximately 500 homes each year, reducing demand for fossil-fuel based electricity sources like coal and natural gas. In addition, because ZooShare will be located in the GTA, the grocery store waste will have to travel at least an hour less than it currently does to be processed, thereby reducing emissions from the diesel trucks used for waste transportation. Furthermore, if/when the adjacent greenhouse is built, it will use little to no natural gas for heating purposes as 'waste heat' from the plant will be used instead.
Daniel Bida, CFA - Executive Director. Daniel has nearly 10 years experience in the energy industry, first as a sustainability and financial analyst and then as president of ReGenerate Biogas Inc. - a dedicated developer of community-owned biogas plants.
Clare Riepma, P. Eng. (Riepma Consultants Inc.) Clare is one of Canada's foremost authorities on biogas and has successfully built and commissioned 5 plants in Ontario and 1 in British Columbia. Clare is responsible for ZooShare's renewable energy approval (REA) and plant design and development in conjunction with Angus Power.
John Hawkes (Angus Power). John has over 35 years experience installing and servicing power plants from 2 to 50 MW in size. As the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor for ZooShare, Angus Power will be responsible for executing our plans and making our dreams a reality.
Jean Sawaya (Angus Power). Jean has over 25 years experience in managing power generation project development, engineering and construction on gas-fired and renewable energy projects. He will be managing the project's development once it enters into Engineering and Construction phase.
Ingo Koenig, MBA, PhD (Koenig and Consultants Inc.) Ingo brings over 15 years experience in the development of community power projects to ZooShare and was responsible for writing the business plan and building the financial model. He continues to contribute to the general management and administration of the co-op going forward.
Christine Koenig, PhD (Koenig and Consultants Inc.) Christine brings her experience from multiple sectors including biotechnology and life sciences as a sustainability and marketing professional. She is managing ZooShare's marketing and communications.
ZooShare's return on investment will be approximately equal to 14% - it will be self supporting upon successful commissioning as a result of revenues from power sales and tipping fees that are over $1.2 million per year.
Comments
re: Excellent
Hi Christine,
thanks for the comment and suggestion. Using pet waste is an innovative idea that comes with a couple of complications - primarily, the bags (for dog poo), regardless of if they are biodegradable or compostable. The issue is that the bags will get caught in our pumps and mixers and cause all kinds of mechanical problems.
take care,
Daniel
Pet waste
Pet waste, if disposed of properly in our green bins, is already taken care of through Toronto's organic processing system, which was designed to filter out any plastics before the organic materials make their way to anaerobic digesting. To have a separate system like ZooShare for pet waste wouldn't make sense, as it would have to be collected and this adds to transportation costs (and emissions) already covered by our municipal waste collection trucks. The reason ZooShare works is because all the animal poop from the zoo is in one location and processes are already in place to collect it.
Where can I read the previous
Where can I read the previous comment thread from before the finalists were announced?
Look under Round 1 tab
All of the comment stream for all the entries in Round 1, including finalists, are still available under the Round 1 tab. However, commenting is now closed on Round 1, so these are view only.
Social Venture?
This is a great proposal, but is there a way to make this a social venture as well?
Through adding a social employment or training aspect.
Relevant
I agree, there is some great environmental aspects to this endeavour.
What is the "social venture" part of this proposal?
re: Relevant
Hi Slyder,
thank you for the question and kind words.
Please see my previous response "re: Social Venture?", but essentially this is a social venture because as a non-profit renewable energy co-op that is owned by individuals around the City we are providing environmental improvements (reduced GHG, reduced groundwater contamination risk, waste diversion), generating renewable energy, educating the public about sustainable waste management practices, and financial contributions to the Zoo. Our annual surpluses that we generate will then be re-invested in other community-owned biogas plants, furthering environmental improvement and local economic development opportunities around Ontario and potentially beyond.
take care,
Daniel
Energy Co-ops Interesting concept for many industries
Hello Daniel,
I think that Biogas digestors are great for the environment that will remove alot of the Methane out of our atmosphere.
It is important for many groups to start looking at ways to turn waste in to wonderful pure energy.
Wondering how you are creating community bonds to invest in a non-profit.
How does a Non profit get community bonds?
To date CSI has been successful in getting GIC like bonds to back people's investment.
Can you explain how energy co-ops can get bonded?
Biogas digestors are really smelly.
What will you do if people going to the Zoo complain about the smell?
re: Energy Co-ops Interesting Concept for many industries
Hi Zell,
thanks for the great questions.
Regarding the Community Bonds and non-profits, it's actually a complex answer. If you are a not-for-profit corporation, the way that CSI is, the process for issuing community bonds involves getting an exemption from the Ontario Securities Commission to allow you to sell bonds directly to non-accredited investors (everyone who isn't wealthy essentially). For a co-op like ZooShare, the process is different because there is a different regulator overseeing this sector of the market. The Financial Services Commissioner of Ontario will review and approve our Offering Statement, which explains all the details and risks related to our bond offering, very much like a prospectus does for a public company issuing securities. Once we receive this approval, we'll be able to sell the bonds directly to the public. This is the only way co-op can issue securities.
Biogas digesters aren't that smelly actually, it's the undigested waste streams that go through them that are really the culprit. In our case, the Zoo is extremely sensitive to odours potentially offending visitors to the site. For this reason we are designing our plant in such a way that all organic waste streams that arrive at the site (manure and food waste) will be placed directly into sealed input tanks that are at the start of the anaerobic digestion process, so that they are not exposed to the air. The food waste will be arriving in a liquid slurry form and be transfered from tanker trucks directly into the tanks via hoses. The Zoo manure will be transported and delivered the same way it is right now, except instead of composting in open wind rows, it will go right into an input tank. Therefore, our operations should have less odour than the current composting operation being used by the Zoo.
take care,
Daniel
re: Social Venture?
Hi riversgr,
I was under the impression that as a non-profit renewable energy co-op, we already are a social venture. I guess that just speaks to how open to interpretation the term 'social venture' is.
I think you may be onto something with the social employment idea - we are going to need an operator/tour guide working at the site on a full time basis. We could easily hire someone and provide valuable job training and employment income. Can you tell me more about how this could work? What kind of individual should we be looking for in your opinion?
take care,
Daniel
Fantastic idea
I remember reading about this over a year ago and I think you've already got the Toronto Zoo's Board of Managers approval on the bio-gas plant. Anyone who's ever been to the Toronto Zoo knows what's the first thing you smell when you get there -- dung! Fantastic idea!
I see this proposal as more of an entry looking for further sponsorship and investments, so perhaps an explanation of what the potential prize money would be used for would help.
re: Fantastic idea
Hi ebrian,
thanks for the kind words and excellent question.
The potential prize money will be used to help ZooShare get through the development phase of the project's development, and into detailed engineering. The hardest thing about developing a community power project is that you often start with no capital and need to rely on grants to get off the ground. The reason for this is that there are not too many investors who are interested in putting money into a non-profit co-operative with no existing credit. Add in that most investors/lenders are only hearing about biogas for the first time and it makes it even harder. ZooShare is only where it is today because of the Community Energy Partnership Program and the fact that the project team has accepted half of its fees in Community Bonds.
take care,
Daniel
Poo is great!
What a great way to get people engaged and learning more!
Zooshare
Innovative concept. Not something I had considered.
Good potential for combined efficiencies
Great idea to capitalize from waste, getting value and producing a savings where previously a cost existed is amazing. I think the greenhouse is a great idea and should be an important part of the project.
Combining the bio-gas production with a greenhouse is a great idea with natural synergy. To see what others are doing in this respect I would refer you to Will Allen and Growing Power in Wisconsin - pretty amazing what they have done and certainly worth checking out http://www.growingpower.org/energy_initiatives.htm
re: Good potential for combined efficiencies
Hi mjanes,
thanks for kind words and support. Yes, the greenhouse is an important potential part of the project that significantly adds to the net thermal efficiency of our operations. However, ZooShare will not be funding and building the greenhouse, the Zoo will have to do that. Given their current financial challenges and the limited need for a new greenhouse at the Zoo, it's not likely it will be built at the same time as the biogas plant, but there is a good likelihood that it could be built in the first 10 years of operations.
Thanks for the Growing Power link, I will get in touch with Will Allen.
take care,
Daniel
Best out of Waste
This a great way in turning waste into energy that can save a lot money for the zoo. Having a biogas plant by using dung and groceries waste will not only eliminate all the waste but it will also be used for an appropriate cause that will also produce energy, electricity for the zoo
re: Best out of Waste
Hi amaheshk,
thanks for the kind words and support!
take care,
Daniel
Great idea
Good idea, except isn't the zoo just a business? I mean if if the zoo does this themselves, can't they profit from it?
re: Great idea
Hi elmsley,
thanks for the question. Yes, if the Zoo did this themselves, they could profit from it. However, the Zoo already has a large amount of capital needs to fund ongoing Zoo operations and some new facilities - they were not interested in adding this to their list of projects needed funding, nor did they want to bear the development risk of building a biogas plant.
So in our case they get to make at least $50,000 per year for the next 20 years, without taking any risk at all. Seems like a good trade off to me.
take care
Daniel
Going green
I would say this is an extra ordinary project that has been brought forward,as in todays world were the world really needs such kind of innovative ways to sustain our limited source of enegry and using the the wastages in an effective manner.By using animal dung will not only help in generation of bio gas but also will help in reducing the usage of other resources which are damaging the nauture and are in scarce in nature.If producing "best from the waste" is followed,then this can really help in reducing affects of green house gases in the ozone layer on a larger scale..
i would simply say..bravo!
re: Going green
Hi jthakka2,
thanks for the kind words and support! It means a lot to the people driving this forward on a daily basis.
take care,
Daniel
Sensible idea. I think we
Sensible idea. I think we need more ideas like this in the world.
re: Sensible idea
Hi bakin25,
thanks for the support. hopefully we'll be able to achieve our long term goals and bring many more community-owned biogas plants to Ontario.
take care,
Daniel
Nice thought
This is a nice idea to keep the environment clean(by using the poo of the animals in zoo)
Though this thought is very helpful but this can be improve by maintaining one separate area for animals to poo so the visitors will not get bad smell in the whole zoo.
re: Nice thought
Hi apate331,
the Zoo poo is already managed by keeping it separate and moving it to the current compost facility 3 times a week. Our plant will be located at the same site, meaning the Zoo doesn't have to change anything about the way it manages manure.
take care,
Daniel
This is the great way of
This is the great way of utilizing the waste from zoo and through this idea we can balance the resources which are reducing day by day.
As such i dont feel any improvement is required. Itz a great idea to proceed with.
Great Idea
Zoo share is a great idea as it is always good to recycle things and reduce the wastage. This helps not only the society but also environment.
This can be improved by giving some training sessions for free to students so that they can do that in their home
re: Great Idea
Hi rmehta16,
thanks for the kind words. You read our minds exactly! Part of ZooShare's educational programming will include a downloadable biogas curriculum to teach you how to make your own biogas plant at home or in the classroom. Tours of the site will be available as well, to further enhance the learning experience.
take care,
Daniel
Nice Idea
This is a Very good Idea, We can try to impliment in parks around toronto and whole Ontario too, this will reduce the expenses and will save the environment.
Not exactly a improvement but a small suggestion, The numbers which you have shown above can influence anyoen to work with you. Try to use those numbers to attract more people in your favor
re: Nice Idea
Hello nsing124,
thank you for the kind words. It is our dream that one day many community-owned biogas plants will be operational all over Ontario - making money and energy, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Which numbers do you mean? Thank you for the suggestion! it's always nice to hear what works and what doesn't...
take care,
Daniel
Fantastic Innovation
The proposal is very timely, at a time with increasing demands on landfills and current electricity supply.
The collaboration with the Zoo is fantastic, and really incentivizes individuals to purchase a membership to obtain a stake in Zooshare.
Although the $5000 membership bond encourages individuals to purchase a membership, it seems a bit much as a one-time investment. Is there a particular Canada Revenue Agency reason for setting it at this level?
re: Fantastic Innovation
Hello akazmierska,
Thank you for the kind words and excellent question.
Just to clarify, we are not selling a $5000 membership bond. A lifetime membership in ZooShare costs $100 + HST. Members have the opportunity to get a $100 discount on the Community Bonds, once they go on sale. Community Bonds will be available for $5000 and $500, if you're a Zoo member. The reason for the $5000 minimum for non-Zoo members is because these bonds are RRSP eligible and carry higher administration fees - it isn't worthwhile to make the minimum any lower than that.
take care,
Daniel
A fan of the project, but how can it scale?
I've written in the previous round about how much I like this project and all projects -- solar, wind, biogas, etc. -- that are built around not just a community co-op model but also financed using a community green bond model.
But one of the criteria for this contest is impact, primarily in the Toronto area. In my view, impact also has to look beyond Toronto -- throughout Ontario and, indeed, across Canada. There are only so many zoos out there, so what are some examples of how this biogas model can be replicated in other communities? By calling it ZooShare, are you limiting opportunities to just zoos?
Can you replicate this model in jurisdictions that don't have a feed-in-tariff? If impact means scale, I really want to know what your plans are to scale this approach so that it doesn't remain just a neat project in Toronto involving animal poop.
In my view, if it can't scale it doesn't matter. This project is a good start, but give me some visibility on your longer-term business plans. I could raise the same questions with SolarShare, but unlike solar -- which can be built anywhere -- you seem to have greater limitations.
See questions above.
re: How can it scale?
Hi Tyler, thanks for another good question.
In addition to this project scaling up to 1 MW at some point in the near future. This model can be replicated anywhere around the GTA where there is sufficient volume of manure production and hydro capacity. There are a large number of suitable chicken and dairy farms within 90 minutes of the city that could host a community-owned biogas plant, and ZooShare would be looking to fund any of these potential operations - it is not Zoo specific. Yes, this model can replicated in jurisdictions that don't have a feed-in tariff - the real issue is getting the economics to work, so if there is a reasonable power price/incentive program and tipping fees available, the project could still make sense.
The ultimate goal for ZooShare is to have an ever growing fund available to other community-owned biogas plants, initially in Ontario and then beyond. Re-investing in the sector's growth is part of ZooShare's mission.
take care,
Daniel
More renewable energy
This project is a great contribution to the suppl;y of renewable energy. New low-carbon energy supply is a critical part of the work needed to reduce greenhouse gases. This project both removes a potent gas (methane) AND generates energy. Brilliant!
I agree with another post re the limitations of calling it ZooShare. I appreciate that it appeals to one market (zoo members) but it limits expansion. ZooShare may even be a misnomer when 80% of the input is food waste rather than zoo poo, altho I understand that the site is on the Zoo grounds.
re: More renewable energy
Hi douglasjpritchard,
thanks for the kind words and feedback.
There are a couple reasons why we chose ZooShare as the name - the obvious one that we're at the Toronto Zoo, but also because of our increasing integration with the Zoo as we grow and develop. ZooShare's first project will be providing an annual cash flow to our name sake for at least the next 20 years, and the Zoo will play a part in designing and delivering our biogas and community power educational programs. True, most of the volume and energy we'll be producing will be coming primarily from food waste, but ZooShare has a much better ring to it than BiogasShare or possibly even PooShare. If at some point in the future we outgrow the name, we'll think about a change, but at this point emphasizing our support of the Toronto Zoo is important to us.
take care,
Daniel
Technologies
The world of poo will be a great one to be in for the future.
The need for Bio-gas digestors will be significant in the coming years.
It is great to see that you have an incredible team of engineers along for the journey.
Have you approached the people at the Royal Agricultural fair?
re: Technologies
Hi Zell,
thank you for the question. Clearly you're beginning to see the world through the poo-coloured glasses the ZooShare team likes to wear around the office.
Interesting you should ask about the Royal Agricultural Fair - just yesterday I got a call from someone involved in it asking if we could take numerous containers full of manure and straw. While we can't take it now, I think we'd likely accept this waste once we are operational.
take care,
Daniel
Zoo first then Farms?
This is a good location for a project so that people can learn about the potential of bio-fuels. The concept too that an idea like this could work on Canadian farms is compelling. A good initiative
GreenHeroes visited the Zoo during the Campaign in support of Yo Yo for DoDo competition. It provided an opportunity for us to make a street team video that we have been sharing on youtube - Have a look here!
Great Idea
I love the idea of this- Turning waste into something useful! Great community project
I wonder if this could be done else-where. There must be a lot of food waste across this city.
The ClimateSpark Social Venture Challenge is a project of:
Our sponsors:
Excellent
Innovative use of the waste from the zoo.
Take in pet waste from the local area.