Ontario municipal buildings get funding boost to reduce energy consumption

OTTAWA — The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Government of Canada have announced over $900,000 in funding for six feasibility studies through the Green Municipal Fund’s (GMF) Community Buildings Retrofit initiative.

The announcement was made by Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of natural resources, and Scott Pearce, president of the FCM. The initiative is part of a $950 million federal investment in FCM’s GMF and is designed to scale up energy efficiency and lower emissions across Canada.

The investments will help cities and towns across Ontario find the best approach to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions at municipally-owned buildings.

The following municipalities will receive funding:

• The City of Sault Ste. Marie receives $200,000 to explore deep energy retrofitting of six of its buildings including the John Rhodes Community Centre, East End Wastewater Treatment Plant, Essar Centre, Public Works Centre, Fire Hall 4 and the Transit Administration/Garage.
• The Town of Caledon receives $200,000 to identify methods to reduce energy and emissions for eight of its facilities including a recycling facility, two community centres, two fire stations and the town hall. The study will explore low-carbon building renewal opportunities such as equipment replacement, fuel switching, lighting upgrades and renewable energy.
• The City of Barrie receives $200,000 to study greenhouse gas emission reduction measures for eight municipal facilities, which account for 60 per cent of the city’s building-related emissions. The study will consider unique aspects of each building, the potential for renewable energy, replacing equipment and capital planning to identify optimal reduction pathways.
• The Town of Carleton Place receives $126,400 to study the feasibility of achieving net-zero emissions at six municipal buildings including community centres, the town hall and emergency services buildings.
• The City of Orillia receives $98,360 to look at reducing greenhouse gas emissions at five municipally-owned buildings including City Centre, the public library, Fire Hall 2 and the wastewater treatment centre. The study will examine innovative technologies new to the city such as geothermal heat pumps and ice plant heat recovery.

The Town of Essex receives $84,070 to study achieving net zero at the Essex Recreation Complex, Essex Centre Sports Complex, and Harrow Arena by examining measures including installing geothermal heat pumps, converting remaining natural gas heating to electric heating, and adding heat recovery to the refrigeration plants at each facility.