Mohawk College’s Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation in Hamilton, Ontario, is Canada’s largest net-zero energy institutional facility and the first in the country to be awarded Zero Carbon Building – Design and Performance certification from the Canada Green Building Council, positioning it as a hub for carbon-neutral technologies and operations. A joint venture by mcCallumSather and B+H Architects, the L-shaped $54 million, 96,000-sqft edifice comprising lecture halls, classrooms, laboratories, a library, student collaboration rooms and the offices of the Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk contributes to the World Green Building Council’s “Advancing Net Zero” initiative that aims to ensure that all buildings are net-zero carbon by 2050 and all new buildings are net-zero carbon by 2030. Anthony Cupido, Research Chair of Sustainability at Mohawk College, says, “We attempted to differentiate ourselves from all the other applications to the Strategic Infrastructure Fund for post-secondary institutions in Canada to improve their infrastructure by detailing a request for a unique (at the time) and bold net-zero energy facility. The College was providing leadership with an innovative design that would demonstrate commitment to a low-carbon future and aggressive Energy Use Intensity targets.”

Generating 100 % of the energy required to power the facility, the total capacity of the PV system installed on the Joyce Centre itself and on adjacent campus buildings is 550 kWp, and the net-zero (or rather, net-positive) energy goal was achieved. Energy production from April 2019 to April 2020 was measured at 653,633 kWh, and consumption at 465,135 kWh. On-site energy generation significantly outperformed what was modeled, with the photovoltaics producing 10 % more energy than anticipated. While the target was for generation to meet consumption, generation exceeded consumption by 40 %, which will have a direct impact on reducing the carbon payback timeline, greatly lessening the original estimation of 27 years to reach zero carbon while accounting for embodied carbon. Typically, buildings of this type are 230 to 300 ekWh/m², but the energy budget target here was 75, and the final “as-built” energy model showed an improvement to 73 ekWh/m². All extra power from the solar panels is exported to other campus buildings. In 2021, the Joyce Centre produced 665,582 kWh of electricity and used 376,853 kWh, a surplus of 288,729 kWh.

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