This system is the first of its type in all of Canada, and it was put together by the cooperation of three parties: General Electric (GE), Nexterra, and the University of British Columbia (UBC).

As a response to this problem, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act (GHGRTA) was set to the public bodies of British Columbia, including UBC.

[2][3] By March 24, 2010, then-UBC President Stephen Toope announced UBC's dedication to climate action summed up by three future carbon reduction targets; 33% below 2007 levels by 2015, 66% below by 2020, and 100% below by 2050.

The Biomass Research and Demonstration Facility takes advantage of gasification processes resulting in a clean source of renewable heat and power.

The process began in 2010 to create North America's first demonstration of a community-scale version of an internal combustion engine that was based on a combined heat and power (CHP) system fuelled by woody biomass.