The Canadian government is seeking candidates to demonstrate aggregated deep energy retrofits in a cluster of at least 100 units of low-rise social, community-based non-profit or cooperative housing. Prospective proponents have until September 14 to apply for the Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Project, which will provide up to six chosen housing providers with $1 million to $10 million to cover 50 per cent of their project costs.
Funding for the pilot was first announced in the 2022 federal budget. It is intended to test a group approach to residential energy retrofits that can leverage economies of scale to reduce per-unit costs for material and labour, speed up construction time and create possibilities for innovation across a broader base of homes. The concept, known as energiesprong, was developed in the Netherlands and has also been applied in retrofit projects in France, Germany the United Kingdom and the United States.
The pilot is open to not-for-profit groups, provincial/territorial and municipal governments and their associated agencies, and Indigenous organizations, including for-profit businesses in which Indigenous parties hold the controlling interest. They will be expected to undertake a whole-building retrofit involving, at minimum, envelope and mechanical upgrades that aim for a 50 per cent annual energy use reduction and an 80 per cent annual reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in each dwelling unit.
Retrofits can be conducted in one of or a combination of low-rise housing types, ranging from single detached homes to multifamily buildings of up to four storeys. Work must be completed by March 31, 2028.
Qualifying proponents will be required to supply one year of baseline data, drawn from utility bills prior to the retrofits, and one year of post-retrofit data. Planned upgrades must be based on whole-building energy modelling, while estimates of return on investment are to be derived based on analysis of the total cost of building ownership rather than a simple payback formula.
“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,” says Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources.
The government has designated a slate of expert advisors — chosen through a call for proposals earlier this year — who will be available to shepherd housing providers through planning, procurement, construction and required reporting processes. A parallel program for commercial, institutional and larger multifamily buildings, dubbed the Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative, is also in progress.
