| Energy Efficiency Incentives |
|
Published: 20-August-2009 By: Rafael Corral
Why Energy Efficiency Incentives? Improving energy efficiency is one of the easiest and most cost effective ways of controlling energy expenses for owners and tenants of buildings. Because owners of small and medium-size buildings in commercial and institutional sectors often lack the financial and technical resources to undertake energy efficiency improvements, incentive programs have been designed to offset the cost to owners of improving the energy efficiency of their operations. In addition to conserving energy, these incentive programs help owners and tenants to reduce energy-related greenhouse gases (GHGs). There is a wealth of incentive programs, each with different eligibility restrictions and financial benefits. The difficult part is becoming familiar with incentives options, understanding eligibility requirements, and handling the approval process. New incentive programs are constantly being introduced as older programs are eliminated. Remaining abreast of these changes requires a significant investment of time. Generally, a good rule of thumb is not to design your operating strategies around a specific incentive program. Rather, it is important to first address your internal needs and then to take advantage of the incentives that best align with your long term goals. The main challenge in qualifying for any program is to speak the language of the incentive provider. Familiarity and effective communication are required to make the best possible use of the flexibility of the application process, and having someone experienced with the particular program to assist you is of great benefit. Often it is not worth the intellectual capital to learn the terms and conditions of a program for a single application. Incentive Programs The National Resources of Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency offers a number of incentives programs covering assessments; retrofits; renewable power; and solar, water and air heating systems. These programs are geared towards small to medium-size commercial, multi residential, institutional and industrial buildings. Provinces offer their own unique programs and more are anticipated; at the 2009 Council of the Federation conference, the provincial premiers committed to a 20 per cent increase in energy efficiency in their provinces by 2020. Currently, applications are being accepted for programs based in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and British Colombia. Each program has its own set of criteria and is usually offered through regional electric or natural gas utilities. Programs that provide financial incentives consider a range of energy efficient improvements encompassing, but not limited to, Building Automation Systems (BAS) & sub metering; lighting; boilers; HVAC; building envelopes; renewables; Variable Frequency Drives (VFD’s); and chillers. Provincial Incentive Programs New Brunswick offers an incentive program through the New Brunswick Energy Efficiency and Conservation Agency to assist existing commercial building owners and operators in making their buildings more energy efficient. Nova Scotia programs are offered by Nova Scotia Power and Heritage Gas. Nova Scotia Power offers a rebate on the installation cost of a solar water heating system for residential or commercial buildings. Through The Natural Gas Equipment Program, Heritage Gas uses financial incentives to encourage the conversion to natural gas of existing space and water heating equipment, as well as laundry, cooking and processing equipment. Quebec offers incentives through Hydro Quebec, Gaz Metro, AEE, Gaz Métro’s Fonds en efficacité énergétique (FEÉ) and Gazifère for a wide range of energy saving practices such as boiler upgrades; more efficient lighting, motor, monitoring and tracking; and provides funding for studies on ways to reduce energy consumption. Manitoba offers many different programs through Manitoba Hydro that cover building envelopes; lighting; boiler systems; commercial kitchen appliances; monitoring and tracking; assessments; and geothermal power. British Colombia incentive programs are offered through BC Hydro, Terasen, and Fortis BC, and cover lighting; motors; monitoring and tracking; and boilers. Ontario Financial Incentives There are 63 financial incentive programs currently available in Ontario, with 33 different sponsors including The Government of Ontario, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Enbridge, and Union Gas. In addition, a variety of Local Distribution Companies (LDCs) offer further incentive programs. There are several different types of financial incentives, which include:
Programs are sector specific, falling into one or more of the following categories, identified in the Ontario’s Energy Efficiency Resource & Funding Guide:
While some of the programs have multi-sector application, the financial incentive amounts may differ. For example, in the case of the Monitoring & Targeting Energy Analysis Program offered by Enbridge Energy Services, half the cost (up to CAD $10,000) of an operational energy analysis is offered for the ICI sector, and only up to CAD $5,000 is offered for the Business & Commercial sector. Financial incentive programs have submission deadlines and end dates, as well as eligibility restrictions. Factors determining eligibility may include minimum gas consumption (m3), the age of the company, and square footage. Even eligibility for some programs will depend on if the building is new or existing. It is also important to note whether a program requires that the incentive amount be repaid. For example, certain programs such as CANtex offer amounts up to CAD $3,000,000 to be repaid, which includes the capital & marketing costs of the project. Incentives are typically catalogued as individual (by project), or by group of projects (Company). This is true of the program ecoEnergy Retrofit for Small – Medium organizations offered by Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency. Whereas a building is eligible for an incentive of up to CAD $50,000 for a project, a company can claim up to CAD $250,000. In the case of the program ecoEnergy for Renewable Power, offered by the Renewable and Energy Division of Natural Resources Canada, incentives of up CAD $80,000,000 and CAD $256,000,000 are available for individual projects and groups of projects respectively. These financial offsets are for all practical purposes production incentives, in that NRCan offers $0.01 per KWh generated over a determined period. Another program offered is the Electricity Retrofit Incentive Program – ERIP, which offers $250 per KW saved. Local Distribution Companies offer this program, so applications should be submitted to the LDC that corresponds with a facility’s geographical site. If an applicant has facilities in multiple locations, there is no need to submit separate applications for each facility. Energy Advantage® Solution As a fully dedicated Energy and Environmental Management company, we maintain comprehensive knowledge of the full range of incentive programs available in Canada, including application processes, timeframes, expiration dates, and terms and conditions. This incentive expertise enables our company to make effective incentive claims on behalf of our clients. In addition, our staff has experience with the different contact points and organizational structures of the incentive providers. This allows us to expedite incentive applications so funds are received to meet cash flows and project budget constraints. Energy Advantage® Results To date, our clients have received CAD $10,650,000 of incentives for energy savings measures through our streamlined incentive application process. We have also completed CBIP (Commercial Building Incentive Program) simulations that have resulted in CAD $3,000,000 of incentive funds for a combined total of CAD $13,650,000 in client incentives over the last eight years. |