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Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan’s) Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) aims to strengthen and expand Canada’s commitment to energy efficiency in all sectors and increase the production and use of alternative transportation fuels in Canada. The OEE manages the ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative, under the ecoENERGY suite of programs initiated on April 1, 2007. The ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative includes the following programs:
In addition to ecoENERGY, the OEE manages the Federal Buildings Initiative and the National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative.
This chapter describes the objective of each of the aforementioned programs and outlines key achievements.
To provide incentives for energy efficiency improvements in homes and in small and medium-sized organizations in the institutional, commercial and industrial sectors. The program has two components:
For more information:
oee.nrcan.gc.ca/retrofit
To assist homeowners and owners of existing low-rise properties make smart energy retrofit decisions that will result in significant energy savings and a cleaner environment.
Initiated on April 1, 2007, the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program is investing $745 million over four years, providing federal grants to property owners for improving the energy efficiency of their homes and reducing their home’s impact on the environment. ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes offers a professional evaluation by a qualified energy advisor of the energy efficiency characteristics of a house, including a diagnostic test to determine air leakage.
The energy advisor prepares a detailed personalized checklist of recommended upgrades for the property owner, including the EnerGuide pre-retrofit energy rating of the house. The checklist shows the recommended, most effective upgrades. The property owner chooses which upgrades to have done.
After the retrofit work is complete, the advisor performs a post-retrofit energy evaluation and assigns a new energy-rating label. After the required improvements have been made, the property owner is entitled to a grant.
In fiscal year 2009–2010, an additional $285 million was allocated to the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program in response to unprecedented demand, bringing the total budget for this element to $745 million over four years. On March 31, 2010, the program ceased accepting bookings for pre-retrofit evaluations, but continued to process grant applications from homeowners who had these evaluations and remained eligible. This demonstrated prudent program management and ensured that all eligible homeowners who previously entered the program had the opportunity to apply for a grant.
Figure 3-1 illustrates the energy use and savings gained per household before and after renovations.
To encourage building owners and managers of commercial and institutional buildings and industries to implement energy efficiency projects.
Initiated on April 1, 2007, ecoENERGY Retrofit – Small and Medium Organizations is investing $40 million over four years, providing financial incentives to implement energy retrofit projects in buildings and industrial equipment and processes. Industrial facilities with fewer than 500 employees and commercial and institutional buildings of less than 20 000 square metres may be eligible for funds through contribution agreements with the program.
ecoENERGY Retrofit – Small and Medium Organizations was originally a five-year program. However, demand was less than expected, and on April 30, 2010, the Government of Canada announced that the program would end in March 2011. Until then, projects continue to be approved, and no existing agreements are affected. Applications continue to be processed on a first-come, first-served basis until March 31, 2011, or until all funds are allocated.
ecoENERGY Retrofit provides up to 25 percent of the cost of a project, to a maximum of $50,000, based on estimated energy savings resulting from the project. Recipients of funding in this category may also qualify for funding support from utilities and/or other levels of government. To qualify, eligible organizations must submit an application detailing the energy efficiency project, including the total budget, timeframe for completion and expected results, based on a certified technical assessment of the building’s or industry’s energy use.
To encourage the construction and operation of more energy-efficient buildings and houses through a range of complementary activities, such as rating, labelling and training.
Initiated on April 1, 2007, the ecoENERGY for Buildings and Houses program is investing $60 million over four years and includes the following activities for the buildings sector:
For more information:
ecoaction.gc.ca/ecoenergy-ecoenergie/buildingshouses-batimentshabitations-eng.cfm
To improve industrial energy intensity and reduce energy-related industrial GHGs and air pollution.
Initiated on April 1, 2007, the ecoENERGY for Industry program is investing $18 million over four years to accelerate energy-saving investments and exchange best-practices information within Canada’s industrial sector. The program helps industry become more energy efficient by providing tools, training and cost-shared studies to enable industry to identify opportunities, calculate payback and overcome technical, management and financial barriers to energy efficiency project implementation.
The Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC) is an industry-government partnership delivered through the ecoENERGY for Industry program. The CIPEC network encompasses more than 50 associations and 25 industrial sectors, covering 98 percent of industrial energy use in Canada. Registered CIPEC Leader companies voluntarily commit to energy efficiency improvements as well as to reducing GHG emissions. Innovative companies at the leading edge receive recognition though the national CIPEC Leadership Awards.
Key program elements include the following:
For more information:
ecoaction.gc.ca/ecoenergy-ecoenergie/industry-industrie-eng.cfm
To facilitate and support improvements in energy efficiency by encouraging Canadians to buy, drive and maintain their vehicles with fuel efficiency in mind.
Initiated April 1, 2007, the ecoENERGY for Personal Vehicles program is investing $21 million over four years to provide Canadians with information, tips and decision-making tools to assist them in changing their buying, driving and maintenance behaviours in order to reduce fuel consumption and GHG emissions from their personal vehicle use. It does so through the following:
ecoENERGY for Personal Vehicles also facilitates work with the vehicle industry to implement and monitor the voluntary memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Government of Canada and the auto industry to reduce automobile GHG emissions.
Program components include the following:
Source: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/environment-fcp-cafctargets-385.htm
For more information:
vehicles.nrcan.gc.ca
To achieve reductions in fuel use and related costs and GHG emissions through a wide range of measures targeting operators and managers of Canada’s commercial and institutional road vehicle fleets.
Initiated April 1, 2007, the ecoENERGY for Fleets program is investing $22 million over four years to promote the adoption of existing and emerging new technologies, such as energy-efficient vehicle components and hybrid technologies, and best practices, such as fuel management techniques.
ecoENERGY for Fleets is aimed at the commercial/institutional fleet transportation sector and provides information, workshops, technical demonstrations and training programs on fuel-efficient practices for fleet vehicles.
Program components include the following:
For more information:
fleetsmart.gc.ca
To support the production of renewable alternatives to gasoline and diesel and encourage the development of a competitive domestic renewable fuel industry.
ecoENERGY for Biofuels provides an operating incentive to facilities that produce renewable alternatives to gasoline, such as ethanol, and renewable alternatives to diesel, such as biodiesel, based on production volumes. The program will invest up to $1.48 billion over nine years, starting April 1, 2008, in support of biofuel production in Canada.
This program is expected to increase domestic production and develop a competitive domestic renewable fuel industry. The expected program volume is 2.5 billion litres (L) of domestic production by March 2012, with a target of 2 billion L of renewable alternatives to gasoline and 500 million L of renewable alternatives to diesel fuel.
In order to receive an incentive, eligible recipients must have signed a contribution agreement with NRCan and must have met the requirements of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and comply with all other applicable federal, provincial and municipal legislation.
Key changes to the program were announced in December 2009: a realignment of the nine-year funding allocation, a new payment regime and a new decision-making methodology.
ecoENERGY for Biofuels is a key component of Canada’s renewable fuel strategy, which aims to
For more information:
ecoaction.gc.ca/biofuels
To assist Government of Canada organizations in implementing energy efficiency upgrades that lead to reduced energy and water use, GHG emissions and operating costs.
The Federal Buildings Initiative (FBI) is an energy efficiency program targeting federal departments and agencies and Crown corporations. The FBI provides a range of products and services required by an organization to implement comprehensive energy efficiency improvement projects in its facilities.
FBI services include project facilitation, such as energy management technical advice, program policy advice and procurement services, to assist organizations in making energy efficiency improvements. The FBI uses a financing technique known as energy performance contracting, in which the cost of the job is paid for from the savings stream.
Other levels of government, institutions and private sector firms have drawn on the FBI’s experience for help in designing their own energy efficiency programs using energy performance contracting. Since its inception in 1991, the FBI has helped upgrade thousands of square metres of federal building floor space, representing one third of the total federal floor space, saving $43 million in energy bills and reducing the risks associated with climate change.
For more information:
oee.nrcan.gc.ca/fbi
Initiated in December 2008, the National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative (NRDDI) aims to address remaining questions from industry and end-users about renewable diesel use by demonstrating how it will perform under Canadian conditions.
The Government of Canada is committed to expanding the production and use of a range of cleaner, renewable biofuels, including renewable diesel. The intent is to reduce GHG emissions that result from fuel use, encourage greater production of biofuels, accelerate the commercialization of new biofuel technologies and provide new market opportunities for agricultural producers and rural communities.
In December 2006, the government announced its intention to develop a regulation requiring an average annual 2 percent renewable fuel content in diesel fuel and heating oil by 2012, upon successful demonstration of renewable diesel fuel use under the range of Canadian conditions. More recently, the government has announced its intention to accomplish this by 2011, subject to technical feasibility.
Renewable diesel has been tested in a variety of vehicle engines under driving conditions in many parts of Europe and the United States. Renewable diesel has also been tested in certain applications in Canada, such as trucks, buses and marine vessels.
During consultation, Canadian industry sectors and end-users raised questions related to large-scale integration of renewable diesel into fuel distribution networks. The NRDDI aims to address these remaining questions in advance of the proposed regulation coming into effect.
Non-repayable contributions have been provided to approved projects that demonstrate aspects of renewable diesel use and/or distribution in Canada.
For more information:
oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/fuels/biodiesel/NRDDI
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