Our Stories
When our Halifax Shipyard was announced as Canada’s builder for the next fleet of Canada’s Navy, we invested $350 million at no cost to Canada to build the most modern shipbuilding facility in North America.
We upgraded our facilities, and added brand new ones, to create a world class shipbuilding facility that will deliver on our commitments to Canada. Although the main focus of this modernization project was to ensure our workers had the best tools, technology and training available to build world-class ships, it also provided us with the opportunity to incorporate environmental and energy saving measures to limit the carbon footprint of both the construction process and future operations of our Assembly and Ultra Hall.
With our location directly on Halifax Harbour, we knew the risk that the Shipyard Modernization construction could pose to our ocean. To mitigate this, we engaged Clean Earth Technologies as a key partner in the project to provide soil and water remediation services throughout the tear down and rebuild of our shipbuilding facility.
Through Clean Earth Technologies Halifax facility, Canada’s first and only soil washing and recycling facility, we were able to remove contaminates from the soil taken from the shipyard so it could be repurposed without risk in other areas.
In the design and construction of the Assembly Hall and Ultra Hall we made upgrades to the lighting, air exchange, fuel and building management systems to make the facility more energy efficient going forward. We made the switch to natural gas, a cleaner burning fuel with a lower carbon footprint.
A comprehensive Fume Exhaust System was installed to purify the air in the facility through the installation of push/pull air exchange units throughout the building. These units capture all welding fumes and filter out particles and dust so that clean air can be pumped back into the facility. By purifying the existing air, we limit the need to introduce outside air into the facility, saving significant energy and heating costs.
The facility features 100% LED lighting which is shown to use 75% less energy, and last 25 times longer, than incandescent bulbs. The lighting control system is automated to turn lights on and off depending on the time of day so that energy is not wasted in areas that are only active during peak business hours.
When installing these upgraded systems, we introduced a complex Building Management System (BMS) that allows us to centralize, monitor and regulate the building temperature and lighting while also allowing us to monitor all of the operational equipment in use at the facility. This shows us what operations use the most energy, so we can understand why, and explore future opportunities for further energy conservation.
At ISI, we’re always striving to be better corporate citizens and our energy conservation policy is just one way we are looking to be better each and every day.
