SEM Helps YVR Navigate the COVID-19 Pandemic

Vancouver International Airport terminal view from above

Industry

Commercial

Challenge

Occupying more than 3,300 acres and servicing more than 26.4 million passengers in 2019, YVR is one of Canada’s largest and busiest airports. For more than two decades, YVR’s management has partnered with BC Hydro to employ SEM principles to reduce the airport’s energy use. Despite a finely tuned plan based on the latest SEM principles and techniques, everything changed when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

Results

YVR’s Energy Manager now has a strong understanding of the airport’s pandemic-era energy usage and savings. With a new baseline and energy model, YVR knows that despite the lockdown, they were still saving energy.

9,638,938

cumulative electricity savings (kwh)

Being strategic, using established energy management best practices and making data driven decisions is key to achieving energy goals at YVR and will be essential as we strive for net zero emissions by 2030.

David McPhie

Senior Environmental Specialist and Energy Manager @ Vancouver Airport Authority

About Vancouver International Airport

Vancouver International Airport, or YVR, is one of Canada’s largest and busiest airports. For more than two decades, YVR’s management has partnered with BC Hydro to employ SEM principles to reduce the airport’s energy use and carbon footprint even as the airport grew increasingly busy each year. YVR achieved carbon neutrality in 2020 and committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2030. The YVR Energy Optimization team implements the airport’s SEM plan to target, deliver and monitor energy-saving opportunities.

The Challenge

Despite a finely tuned plan based on the latest SEM principles and techniques, everything changed when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. In 2020, YVR’s passenger total dropped to 7.3 million passengers—a 72% reduction that rendered obsolete all of the energy models and projections that had informed their detailed SEM plan.

The Solution

To understand the pandemic’s impact on their energy plan and their progress toward aggressive energy efficiency and sustainability goals, YVR’s Energy Manager turned to BC Hydro and consultant, Prism Engineering, to help YVR adapt their modeling and baseline to account for these seismic operational changes.

The SEM Collaborative is a free and continually updated collection of resources that help commercial and industrial energy efficiency program administrators understand and adopt the latest SEM strategies and tactics. SEM tactics and technologies are constantly evolving, so many utilities and energy managers rely on SEMC to stay updated, share ideas and keep the SEM conversation going. This dynamic exchange of SEM data and ideas was perhaps never more important than when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Prism Engineering soon found a recently posted energy modeling selection guide created by the NW SEM M&V Workgroup. The selection guide offered the insight they needed to help YVR’s Energy Manager adjust their SEM model and baseline to track energy savings during the pandemic, and it was written in an accessible manner that made it immediately useful for energy managers at any level.

The guide was a great tool because of its comprehensive offering and accessibility. All available methods were in one place, allowing us to easily choose which ones were applicable and the methodology to follow. - Juan Mani, Energy Management Engineer, Prism Engineering

The Results

Despite the disruption and uncertainties of COVID-19, YVR’s Energy Manager now has a strong understanding of the airport’s pandemic-era energy usage and savings. With a new baseline and energy model, YVR knows that despite the lockdown, they were still saving energy, though not at the same rate as before the lockdown. This insight allows them to continue withstanding the pandemic with the energy-use clarity required to maintain their commitment to ambitious energy and sustainability goals.

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