There is little for buildings in Alberta’s newly released plan for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while supporting ongoing development of fossil fuel resources. No specific policies or programs for commercial real estate are promised, in keeping with the provincial government’s stance that it will need to complete “comprehensive assessments of technology pathways with industry and experts in each sector” before it can move forward. However, the plan indicates that supports for energy management in industrial and commercial facilities will be considered.

In the introduction to the plan, Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, Sonya Savage, confirms her government’s aspiration to achieve a carbon neutral economy by 2050, but maintains that continued investment in oil and gas will be necessary for energy security, reliability and affordability. With a focus on technologies for carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), that includes strategies to reduce emissions from the production of traditional fuels and emerging options like hydrogen.

“This is an Alberta-made plan built with our expertise, our unique emissions profile and our economic circumstances at its heart,” concurs Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. “Instead of moving away from hydrocarbons, we will use these resources in innovative ways to ensure Alberta continues to provide the world with sustainably produced energy and products.”

Buildings directly account for roughly 8 per cent of Alberta’s GHG emissions output, but are also major consumers of electricity, which contributes another 9 per cent of the overall tally. Both sectors pale against the oil and gas industry’s 57 per cent share.

On the electricity front, the plan reiterates that natural-gas fired generation “will be the backbone of Alberta’s electrical grid for decades to come” and acknowledges that energy efficiency and demand side management can be effective in reducing emissions from that carbon-intensive grid. A typo in one of the few proposed future actions muddies the interpretation, but it appears to hint at the potential for incentives.

“Today’s electricity consumers are savvy, and the province will need to enable ‘prosumers’ to generate their own electricity, as well as manage demand and energy efficiency, to reduce overall energy use,” the plan states. “Alberta will consider energy management to (sic) supports to continue driving energy efficiency and emissions reduction projects in industrial and commercial facilities.”

Specific to buildings, energy efficiency is identified as central to both reducing GHG emissions and saving money. Toward that end, the plan highlights the $55 million the province has thus far invested in its Energy Savings for Business Program to subsidize upgrades in office buildings and small and medium-sized facilities.

It also notes the current government’s $13 million contribution to date to the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre, an agency first established in 2009 to underwrite energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in the municipal, schools and non-profit sectors. A further $15 million over three years is pledged for the centre, equating to annual spending of about $1.09 per capita across Alberta’s approximately 4.6 million residents.

Among the provincial government’s other highlighted efforts, in 2018 it enacted enabling legislation that allows Alberta municipalities to implement PACE (property assessed cleaning energy) programs. These advance upfront financing for energy efficiency upgrades and/or renewable energy installations with loan repayment occurring through increments on borrowers’ property tax bills. Nine municipalities, including Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge have established programs for residential ratepayers, while Edmonton is the only one thus far to offer a commercial program.

For now, Alberta has adopted Tier 1 of the recently released 2020 National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB), which introduces four tiers of progressively more rigorous energy performance. Beginning in 2024, new construction and major renovations in Alberta will have to comply with the code’s established minimum baseline in Tier 1, but the emissions reduction plan pledges the province “will continue to engage with stakeholders to determine if and when a higher energy efficiency tier for buildings should be adopted”.

The emissions reduction plan makes two additional commitments related to buildings, to:

• explore education and awareness measures related to energy performance and benchmarking of buildings in Alberta, focusing on new builds and major retrofits; and
• assess clean technology, low-carbon building materials and innovation opportunities for residential, commercial and industrial buildings.