Feds announce $235 million for building energy-retrofit programs
The federal government has announced calls for applications for two programs – worth a combined $235.5 million – that are designed to accelerate energy retrofits in buildings.
"Retrofitting Canada's buildings stock provides us with the opportunity to make communities more resilient to climate-related impacts while reducing emissions and utility bills, increasing energy efficiency and creating good-paying jobs in construction and maintenance," said Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.
Valued at $200 million, the Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative will invest in projects that support the development of deep retrofits in commercial, institutional or mid- or high-rise multi-unit residential buildings.
Selected projects will establish and collect deep retrofit projects, guide building owners in the process of developing and implementing specific retrofit projects, identify available funding and financing for specific deep retrofit projects, and conduct capacity building activities, such as developing or implementing new, standardized or replicable methods for deep retrofits.
Deep retrofits are an extensive overhaul of a building's systems that can save at least 50 percent in energy consumption, reduce utility costs and operating expenses, and significantly curb GHG emissions. They may also improve resiliency and adaptation to climate change.
Measures include: significantly reconfiguring the interior, replacing the roof, adding or rearranging windows for increased daylight, replacing the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system with a renewable technology like a ground-source heat pump, among other measures.
The program’s call for applications is open to organizations including non-profits, private firms, civil society, municipalities, provinces and territories, and Indigenous organizations and groups. Applications will remain open until April 28.
The $35.5-million Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Program, meanwhile, will support as many as six communities across Canada in developing integrated approaches to deep energy retrofits — or a major building renovation project — such as upgrading building walls and insulation or upgrading space heating equipment.
The first phase of the program will support regional market development teams in preparing scalable deep-energy-retrofit plans for their communities. Teams can convene and coordinate supply-side and demand-side actors to broker aggregated deep energy retrofit projects, find solutions to regional gaps and barriers, and drive market transformation in their regions.
The call for proposals is open to organizations including non-profits, private firms and Indigenous organizations and groups. Successful applicants will receive contributions of up to $1 million per project.
A call for proposals under a second phase of the program is expected to launch by the summer.
The phase will support demonstration projects in up to six communities, targeting clusters of low-rise housing (at least 100 units). These proposals will explore innovative and cost-effective pathways for more affordable and efficient building renovations.
The phase one call for proposals is open until April 5.
Collectively, buildings and homes are the third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, accounting for approximately 13 percent of Canada's emissions.
More than two-thirds of buildings that will be standing in Canada in 2050 have already been built. Most need to be retrofitted to make them more sustainable.