1. business and industrial
2. energy
3. renewable energy
4. geothermal energy

2012 RPIC Real Property National Workshop
Moving Toward Net Zero Energy:
Ideas on how to get there
Presented By Suzanne Wiltshire
Suzanne Wiltshire Bio
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2-Nov-12
Suzanne is Golder’s Geothermal Technology Leader.
Her clients include utilities, municipalities, institutions
and Private developers in Canada and the U.S.
Her work encompasses technical and financial
feasibility, building energy efficiency design, geothermal
system design, engineering and construction, and
portfolio sustainability.
She has developed innovative third party ownership and
investment agreements, engaging partners from both
public and private sectors.
She currently serves as President of the Ontario
Geothermal Association (OGA).
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Presentation Key Points
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2-Nov-12
Energy supply, reliability, and cost continue to concern the real property
community.
Net Zero thinking is becoming the new benchmark / imperative.
Rethinking your energy systems and planning for the future will be key
to protecting your real estate assets for their long term viability.
Suzanne will cover:
  Renewable energy sources highlighting geoexchange technology
and the economics of why it makes sense in new construction and in
select building retrofit projects.
  Pre-existing building and site conditions to look for and key steps in
project management that can make or break your budget
  Several case examples of projects that will illustrate solutions to
design, construction and financing issues.
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Why Use Geothermal / Renewable Energy?
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Clean, natural, unlimited
Everywhere
Free
Heating and cooling
Available all the time, every day,
winter and summer
Saves electricity
Saves money
Saves the environment
Easy to install
No fossil fuels, no combustion
No Green House Gas Emissions
Systems can last 50 to 100 years and longer
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Energy Quirks
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Energy demand has peaks
Energy peak supply needs to
be available when needed
More capacity means more
investment
Energy storage is vital
Issue is not – where to get
energy
Issue is – how to pay for
energy - peak capacity at the
ready, with less than peak
consumption?
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Energy Infrastructure Has Costs
Grids, pipelines and power
plants cost:
Money
  Environment
  Land use
  Waste
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2-Nov-12
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2030 is NOW
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Net Zero new construction by 2030?
- consume no energy on a net
annual basis
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Step 1: reduce energy demand -air
tight building, high U-value walls,
roofs, windows & doors, high
efficiency lighting and appliances
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Step 2: eliminate fossil fuels –
passive and active solar heating,
ground source heat pumps
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Step 3: solar PV, wind, bio-fuels,
wood, for electricity
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Constraints? Just a few
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Parking – Toronto 1 space/unit
underground, car sharing
Sun exposure – existing buildings
shadow each other
 live upstairs, sleep downstairs
Geo boreholes – no space
 8 ft. high drill rigs, angle drilling,
lease adjacent land
Capital cost now – savings later
 green loans, renewable energy
suppliers, long term ownership
Design and construction coordination
 design build, design integration,
experience
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Geothermal Energy – Where is it?
Summer
Regardless of air temperature,
from a depth of 2 metres below
the surface, the temperature of
the ground is relatively constant
  Typical ground temperatures in
Toronto are 10 to 12°C
  By installing HDPE “loops” into
bore holes, water (ethanol or
glycol solution) can be
circulated; it is heated or cooled,
depending on the entering water
temperature
  Heat pumps use anti-freeze to
condense or evaporate and
augment energy output
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Winter
25°C
-10°C
11°C
January
April
July
October
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Horizontal Geothermal System
If land area is available, geothermal loops
can be buried under a field or lawn 1.5 to
2 metres below the ground surface.
  Urban school yards, sports fields and
parks can produce significant capacity
  Land area of a little less than 100 m2 is
required for each ton of heating and
cooling
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Vertical Geothermal System
Geothermal loops are installed in bore
holes drilled 180 metres deep
  Toronto shale geology produces
approximately 3 tons of heating/cooling
per bore hole
  OBC (2012) new construction buildings
require approximately 1 ton of heating/
cooling per 1000 sq. ft of occupied space
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Geothermal Heating in Winter
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11°C
11°C
11°C
7°C
One or many bore holes are
drilled into the ground, up to 180
metres deep
  A continuous “geothermal loop”
is inserted to the bottom of the
bore hole and back up to the
surface
  The geothermal loops are filled
with water, connected in parallel
and brought into the building
basement where they are
connected to a heat pump
  Heat pumps extract heat from
the warm geothermal fluid,
compress it to a higher
temperature and send it into the
building
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Geothermal Cooling in Summer
11°F
2-Nov-12
11°F
11°F
18°C
In summer, the same bore holes
absorb heat from the building,
providing cooling
  The same heat pumps reverse
the process, to condense heat
from the building and send it to
the borefield
  Bore holes are designed to
either act independently, each
producing the full capacity of
heating and cooling required, or
they are designed to act as a
battery, decreasing the ground’s
temperature in winter and
increasing it in summer.
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Sizing – Thermal Response Test
Fluid is heated and circulated in a
geothermal well under controlled
conditions with temperatures logged.
Valeurs expérimentales
Modèle
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Température (°C)
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14
12
10
4
10
5
6
Graphical
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Temps (secondes)
Valeurs expérimentales
Modèle
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Température (°C)
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18
16
14
12
10
-0.5
0
0.5
Analytical
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1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Temps (secondes)
5
x 10
35
T1
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
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-
LWT - 0m
61m
122m
183m
61m
EWT - 0m
Température (°C)
25
20
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The ground thermal parameters will
affect the size of the overall system
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10
5
0
1
2
3
4
Numerical
Temps (secondes)
14
5
6
5
x 10
Geothermal Borefield Balance
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Sizing a closed-loop system consists of evaluating the
number of wells required based on:
Thermal conductivity of geological medium
Heat pump technical specifications (EWT & COP)
Thermal loads of the building (8760 hours)
Well depth and spacing
Desired thermal interference between the boreholes
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Température du fluide caloporteur a l'entrée de la PAC
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Température (ºC)
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20
15
10
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Modelling of the heat
carrier fluid temperature
with a Golder 3D model
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-5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Heure
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3.5
4
4.5
Modelling heat pump entering water temperature
(EWT) for 5 years with a Golder analytical model
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4
x 10
Renewable Energy Building Conversion
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Energy Use in MNEBC Multi-­‐Residential Building
27 storey – 320,000 sq. ft. multi-res
condo could save 760 tonnes of CO2
emissions per year
Auxiliary
9%
Lighting
10%
Energy Use in Renewable Energy
Multi-­‐Residential Building
Geothermal Energy
65%
PV Solar Solar Hot Water 1%
Heating
11%
Space Heating
4%
Space Cooling
4%
Lighting
10%
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Natural Gas
74%
Electricity 26%
Space Heating
51%
74% NG energy became
77% renewable energy
  Total annual electricity
consumption 1% less
  Energy Savings (OBC) ~ 40%
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Auxiliary
5%
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Space Cooling
7%
Renewable Energy
77%
Electricity
23%
Hot Water Heating
23%
Comparative Returns
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Internal Rates of Return
Geothermal -12.4%
Solar Air Heating -10.9%
Solar Water Heating - 5.9%
Wind – 3.6%
PV – 1.5%
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Payback Period
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Geothermal - 7.2 yrs
Solar Air Heating – 8 yrs
Solar Water Heating - 11.5 yrs
Wind – 13.3 yrs
PV – 16.9 yrs
Source: (U of T, TRCA 2011)
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Comparative O&M Costs
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Geothermal
systems have
no combustion
and are not
exposed to the
weather
Source: (U of T, TRCA 2011)
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Annual Costs - NG vs. Geo
natural gas fuel expense is perpetual,
with no price certainty
  GSHP annual electricity consumption
is more for heating but less for cooling
producing net annual savings
  GSHP annual maintenance is
60% less
  GSHP life > NG furnace, AC
equipment
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Electricity use in multi-res building
conventional heating
conventional cooling
geo heating and cooling
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Economics of Geothermal
Capital Cost Annual Cost
Yr 1
Yr1
Capital Cost Annual Cost
Payback
Yr 20
Yr20
Payback
Total
IRR
40 year LCC
40 y @ 10%
E H / EL C
$ 3,000 $ 3,252
$ 4,458 $ 4,832
$ 211,066
NG H / EL C
$ 6,000 $ 1,574
$ 8,916 $ 2,339
$ 113,449
GEO H / GEO C
$ 12,000 $ 510 5.6 $ 4,458 $ 757 (2.8) $ 48,358
10.1%
GEO/SOL H / GEO C
$ 14,000 $ 451 7.1 $ 7,430 $ 670 (0.9) $ 49,672
8.8%
*EL $0.13/kWh, NG $0.26/m3, I nfl a ti on 2%
Cost of renewable energy equipment is up front, savings take time
  Building owner/users (TCHC, schools, municipal, corporations) recover
cash directly
  Building developers (condominiums, landlords) must recover cash through
increased prices or higher rent, or can transfer liability to “green loan” or
third party “Renewable Energy Supplier”
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Design Integration
Architectural
Design
Geothermal
Mechanical
Design
Design
Geothermal systems can save 40% energy or more
  Geothermal mechanical design integration is essential
  Geothermal architectural integration can create valuable building space
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Construction Cycle Considerations
Geothermal systems are similar to other construction projects, BUT:
Design
Design
Integration
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PreConstruction
Construction
Thermal
Response
Test
Drilling &
Horizontal
Tie-in
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Operations
Continuous
Monitoring
Complete Design Integration - Walden Public School,
Lively, ON
Design build process started with given
USE and BUDGET
  Architect designed spaces for multiple uses
  Energy efficiency was second principal of
design – orientation, lighting, insulation,
ventilation – if it saved energy, it was in.
  Goal was “carbon neutral” with the same
budget – tradeoffs required but they got
there!
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Walden
Public- Achieving
School - Geothermal
Energy integrated
Case Study
Carbon Neutral
with Solar Heat, Solar Electricity and Wind Electricity
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Energy source design integration
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energy recovery ventilation
increased insulation
geothermal radiant floor heating
solar hot water tied to geothermal
system
5.  instant electric hot water
Total electricity consumption reduced to
5 kWh/sq. ft. – 210,000 kWh/yr.
  Conventional building energy costs of
$1.27/sq. ft. reduced to $.60/sq. ft.
  Geothermal provides 100% heating,
slab cooling; borefield is replenished by
solar thermal energy
  Solar PV on roof > 200,000 kWh/yr,
wind turbine > 34,000 kWh/yr
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Walden Public School – Geothermal W/W heat pumps
provide radiant heating, efficiently
Central geothermal
pumping station
  Geothermal headers
  W/W heat pumps
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Economics of New Construction
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No outdoor compressors, cooling towers, large boilers
Reduced roof loading
More roof top amenity space – patios, pools
Combustible construction
Smaller mechanical maintenance area (more parking)
Fewer suite bulkheads, if Heat Pump is placed centrally
Fewer more costly green measures required to meet LEED or other
Easier municipal approval
Reduced capital cost (if Green Loan or 3rd party Energy Supplier)
“Green” marketing
Flexibility to use NG for “peak” loads to reduce geothermal size
Scalable – can be built incrementally with multi-phase projects
Emergency back up is power, not natural gas
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Strata Condominium All Geothermal Energy
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Strata condominium, Burlington, Ontario
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21 storey high rise, 186 suites
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geothermal bore field is entirely under the
building – 220 tons of geothermal energy
supplies 100% heating/cooling
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penthouse is a recreational pool and spa,
where noisy mechanical equipment would
normally be required
2-Nov-12
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Ironstone Condominium, Burlington, ON
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210 suite ultra-modern urban condo
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No HVAC roof equipment created space
for roof top gardens and patios
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Construction began July 2011
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Geothermal System Construction
Coordination required on large complex construction sites
  Installations beneath buildings – drilling can be done from the surface before
excavation – approximately 1 borehole/day per rig
  Horizontal tie-ins must coordinate with drainage and footings
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Springdale Professional Centre
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Medical office Condominium, 120,000 sq. ft., occupied 2009
100% geothermal heating and cooling – 355 ton capacity
28 kW PV solar system to light common areas
sidewalk and ramp snow melt assist, heated underground parking
1,081 tons of CO2 avoided = 281 cars removed
30 year Renewable Energy Supply Agreement - est. $17 mil. savings
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Springdale Drilling from the Surface
Three rigs drilled 96 wells, 380’ deep
  Drilling from the surface, prior to excavation
saved construction time and money
  Loops are HDPE, CSA C-448 standard, rated
160 psi, 55 year warranty
  Heated parking garage, snow melt assist for
ramps, sidewalks, entrances
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Springdale Construction
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P1 slab
heating
loop
installation
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Economics of Retrofit Construction
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Building overall architecture is fixed
Building energy efficiency may be poor - the geothermal system
will need to be relatively large
Retrofit requires entire system to be “low enthalpy”, old equipment
is not likely compatible – residual value?
If only HVAC retrofit, then interior access is difficult
(costly or impossible)
Geothermal requires interior hydronic piping, which may not exist
Duct work and fan coils may not be compatible with low temperatures
Landscaping remediation will be required after loop installation
Disruption to occupants and building use restrictions
Noise – neighbours need to know what is going on
Construction hours may be restricted
Building CAD drawings may not exist
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Brantford Collegiate Institute Retrofit
High school in Brantford, ON
  Vertical borefield under sports
fields
  Complete renovation
  Payback was under 4 years
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Brownfield Remediation - Wayfare
Remediated industrial brownfield on the
shore of the St. Lawrence River in
downtown Brockville
  106 unit condominium building with indoor
swimming pool
  Integrated geothermal, mechanical,
electrical design:
  Test well drilling and TRT
  Granite at the surface, high pressure
aquifer at 245 ft. depth
  Geothermal system sizing and design,
to avoid
  Geothermal central plant mechanical
design, building mechanical HVAC,
plumbing, electrical, fire protection
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© 2011 Golder Associates
Depleted Quarry to Energy Resource
Open pit quarry is dewatered for 1 million sq.
ft. redevelopment – golf course, 7 condos, a
hotel resort, vineyards, equestrian facilities
  Horizontal geothermal loops are laid in the
quarry bed, prior to backfill.
  Quarry geothermal system can produce1200
tons of geothermal energy, 100% of
development’s heating and cooling demand.
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Geothermal District Energy Systems
  A central bore field is installed in property which is owned by a third
party or municipality such as a school yard or community park
  Each house or building is connected to a ‘thermal grid’
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Homefield – District Energy Concept
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Type of
Residential
Structure
Number
Single Family
Detached House
201
Single-Family
Attached
(Townhouse)
200
Multi-family
Residential
Buildings
8 buildings
(192 units
total)
Community
Building
1
Total
594
Waldorf – Community Energy Concept
  Main Distribution
pipe length 7,965 ft.
  Secondary
connection pipe spurs,
total length 11,667 ft.
  Distance to
Borefield A - 287 ft.,
Borefield B – 2,351 ft.
Borefield C – 3,100 ft.
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Whole Communities Use Geothermal Energy
Gibsons,
British Columbia,
Canada
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All the buildings in a community can be
connected to one huge geothermal system
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Ball State University Geothermal System
  4100 boreholes (originally 3600 were
planned), 450 feet deep, 5 inches in
diameter
1,230
boreholes
573
boreholes
  Three bore fields, under sports fields,
parking lots and green spaces
  Two Central Energy Stations will supply
45 campus buildings spread across 731
acres
  Total cost is $65 - $70 million, annual
savings are $2 million, useful life of the
system is 50 years
  Elimination of 85,000 tons of CO2
1,800
boreholes
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emissions annually
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Ball State University Geothermal System
Heating
provided at
140 °F
Cooling
provided at
45 °F
Network of piping extends
nearly 10 miles
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Ball State University Geothermal System
North
Borefield
Installation
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Ball State University Geothermal System
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Toronto Geothermal District Energy System?
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Thank You
Suzanne Wiltshire
Golder Associates Ltd.
2390 Argentia Road
Mississauga, ON
[email protected]
Tel: 905-567-4444
www.golder.com