Edmonton city council unanimously approves $12.4-million clean energy program for 100 building retrofits to reduce carbon emissions

Source: Dustin Cook · EDMONTON JOURNAL · | August 19, 2021

Edmonton city council unanimously approved a $12.4-million program to retrofit 100 buildings with energy efficiency upgrades.

Source: PHOTO BY ED KAISER /Postmedia

A two-year pilot program will finance energy efficiency upgrades to 100 existing Edmonton buildings as part of the city’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Approved unanimously by city council Thursday morning, the $12.4-million Clean Energy Improvement Program will be available to homeowners and organizations looking to make renewable energy improvements to their properties. The financing provided to approved projects will then be repaid over time through a clean energy improvement tax.

Peter Amerongen, spokesman for the city’s Energy Transition and Climate Resilience Advisory Committee, told councillors the pilot project is a necessary component to meet the goal of limiting carbon emissions to 135 megatonnes. This threshold is required to fall in line with the 1.5 C temperature increase agreed to as per the Paris Agreement.

With about 80 per cent of the buildings that will be used in 2050 already built, Amerongen said changes need to be made to the existing inventory to meet future climate change goals.