Work has begun on a new $85-million clean energy system that will dramatically reduce UBC’s greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. When it’s completed in 2017, the new hot-water system will heat 130 buildings on campus — and replace the aging steam system, parts of which are nearly a century old.

A first-of-its-kind clean energy project that will generate enough clean electricity to power 1,500 homes and reduce the University of British Columbia’s natural gas consumption by up to 12 per cent, received $11.2 million in new federal and provincial government funding at an official groundbreaking ceremony today.

The unsightly mounds of rock waste surrounding most metal ore mines have long been a source of environmental concern. However, a team of UBC researchers is investigating the potential of these “mine tailings” to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, enabling individual mines to contribute to the fight against climate change.