Ottawa's new Cliff Energy Centre heats and cools 80+ federal buildings

The Cliff Energy Centre, which opened in June, now heats and cools more than 80 federal government buildings across Ottawa, including Parliament Hill structures more than a century old. The facility, built directly into a cliff face below Wellington Street, replaces an aging steam-driven plant with a modern system designed to last 100 years and withstand any emergency.

Public Services and Procurement Canada designed the building to be more than functional—it's become a landmark. A shimmering stainless-steel curtain follows the escarpment's contours, with theatre box-like structures jutting from the western end. From the Ottawa River Pathway, residents and visitors can now see the river clearly, with views extending to Gatineau and southbound traffic on the Portage Bridge.

Tomasz Smetny-Sowa, mechanical engineer and senior director of the Energy Services Acquisition Program, told the source: "We didn't want to build a concrete box." The facility replaces infrastructure that blocked the river view and carried dangerous history: in 2009, a steam boiler at the old Cliff plant exploded, killing 51-year-old worker Peter Kennedy. The federal government later pleaded guilty to Canada Labour Code charges and paid more than $300,000 in fines.

The new plant's design requirements include cutting greenhouse-gas emissions, though the source does not specify the reduction targets. The total project cost was not disclosed.