CanREA

December 2008.

A key solution for stimulating the Canadian economy and creating new manufacturing jobs is developing an ambitious renewable energy and efficiency strategy that harnesses our vast domestic and regional markets. CanREA has published a set of recommendations for building this new green economy - starting with the 2009 federal budget.

CanREA’s recommendations are contained in a 7 page report titled Canada’s Great Clean Energy Opportunity - Creating Jobs and Economic Development through Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The key recommendations are as follows:

1. Leadership: Set short term tactical targets and long term strategic energy efficiency and renewable energy targets, establish a national renewable energy secretariat and laboratory, join the new International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and pass and a Renewable Energy Act.

2. Financing: Establish a Smart Energy Fund to provide seed financing, R&D support and make loans to utilities, municipalities, or public-private partnerships to provide energy efficiency, green building, and renewable energy services. Provide seed monies from the Smart Energy Fund to provincial community power funds to cover soft costs and low-interest loans to enable ownership of projects by community power proponents.

3. Training: Provide on-going funding through the National Green Economy Training Program to promote good jobs in energy efficiency and renewable energy by training and certifying auditors, installers, financiers, designers and operators. This would provide a commitment to a long-term education and training, on-the-job experience, and providing apprenticeship programs.

4. Buildings and Housing: Develop a comprehensive building and housing re-commissioning and retrofit plan to upgrade the majority of buildings in Canada by 2020, rapidly implement a lowincome homeowners and renters program to retrofit all low-income housing over 10 years. Provide tax credits for new net zero and green buildings and housing, and incorporate energy performance requirements and renewable energy considerations into the next version of Canada’s National Building Code.

5. Transport: Set regularly increasing efficiency standards for all light vehicles and heavy trucks, establish a national rail network authority to develop comprehensive and effective national high speed passenger and freight rail systems, provide annual major targeted transfers (investments) to the Provinces and Territories to support the rapid construction of mass transit and smart growth infrastructure, Establish market-based criteria that ensure the sustainable use of biomass resources for the production of ethanol and bio-diesel from forest and agricultural materials.

6. Renewable Power: Support provinces that adopt feed-in tariffs and other innovative policies, scale up the current EcoEnergy for Renewable Power incentive program including appropriate rates to encourage solar PV investment, and establish a high-level national task force on renewable power grid integration, power storage and transmission.

7. Renewable Heat: Introduce a national tax credit for residential and small business solar water heaters and Support sustainable, renewable biomass heating fuels industry particularly in BC, Quebec and Northern Ontario.

For more details download CanREA’s Backgrounder and 2-pager on the new green economy. See also CanREA’s letter to ministers Flaherty (Finance) and Raitt (Natural Resources) outlining CanREA recommendations for Budget 2009.