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Environment and Energy news & events:     Province of Ontario  ecoACTION

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ecoENERGY program registration now closed

More renewable energy for Ontario

Europe's electricity renewable by 2050?

Retrofoam insulation banned by federal government

All Ontario parties support energy efficiency reports for home buyers

Ontario residents shift toward energy conservation

ecoAUTO rebate program

ecoENERGY program registration ends Jan. 28, 2012

The program has reached its goal of 250,000 registered homeowners and therefore Natural Resources Canada is no longer acceping new registrations. To help ensure registered homeowners have time to get their post-retrofit evaluations and receive a grant, the Government of Canada is extending the deadline to June 30, 2012, for homeowners to complete post-retrofit evaluations and apply for a grant. All retrofit renovations must still be completed by March 31, 2012.

ecoENERGY program renewed til March 31, 2012

July 13, 2011

The federal government announced today that the ecoENERGY home retrofit program has been renewed for the period from June 6, 2011 to March 31, 2012. Visit the website for details.

Renewable energy for Ontario

Jan. 21, 2010 - Ontario is partnering with South Korean manufacturer Samsung Group which will make renewable energy technology here -- such as wind turbines -- and develop wind and solar farms in Ontario.

Samsung is also expected to operate four manufacturing plants in Ontario, with the first three to build wind turbine towers, solar inverters and to assemble solar modules. They are to be operational within four years.

A fourth plant, which will build the giant wind blades, will open shortly after the other three.

Vinay Sharma, chief executive of London Hydro said he wouldn't be surprised to see some manufacturing in Southwestern Ontario because the area is rich in research in renewable energy, as well as skilled workers.  Full article from the London Free Press

Europe's electricity could be all renewables by 2050

Mar 29, 2010 PARIS (AFP) – Europe could meet all its electricity needs from renewable sources by mid-century, according to a report released Monday by services giant PricewaterhouseCoopers.

A "super-smart" grid powered by solar farms in North Africa, wind farms in northern Europe and the North Sea, hydro-electric from Scandinavia and the Alps and a complement of biomass and marine energy could render carbon-based fuels obsolete for electricity by 2050, said the report.

The goal is achievable even without the use of nuclear energy, the mainstay of electricity in France, it said.

Full article.

Retrofoam insulation banned by federal government

In 1980 Canada banned use of urea formaldehyde foam insulation, or UFFI, which had been widely used. It was feared the foam released formaldehyde, which could cause respiratory problems and even cancer. About 280,000 Canadian homes had UFFI installed.

The federal government yesterday (Feb. 3, 2009) banned another product, RetroFoam, saying it also contains urea formaldehyde.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced a "cease-and desist" order against home insulator RetroFoam Canada, based in Breslau near Waterloo, and its area dealers.

"It's come to our attention that part of the insulation contained urea formaldehyde," Nicholson said.

Enerliv, the Canadian distributor of the insulation, has been ordered to "to stop all sale, advertisement and further installations of the product and to call back any unused product."

Further, Health Canada is informing consumers that RetroFoam of Canada Incorporated imported and illegally sold RetroFoam insulation in Canada. Urea formaldehyde-based thermal insulation (UFFI) was prohibited in Canada in December 1980 under the Hazardous Products Act.

Health Canada promised yesterday to contact homeowners about having their air quality tested. The government continues to investigate the company and will set up a 1-800 number for homeowners worried about the insulation.

Click to read full article from cnews 

All Ontario parties support energy efficiency reports for home buyers

Oct 17, 2008 TORONTO — All parties in Ontario's legislature agreed in principle Thursday to a private member's bill that would make it mandatory to provide energy ratings to potential home buyers so they can assess the costs of maintaining residences.

The initiative, outlined in a bill introduced by Liberal member Phil McNeely, would be phased in over three years, starting in 2010, and apply to homes and small apartments.

Under Bill 101, a builder or seller would have to get a rating report that informs buyers of the home's energy efficiency to allow them to estimate costs. It wouldn't, however, set limits or regulations on the amount of energy that can be used.

"By measuring the energy rating, consumers will have the choice to weigh energy costs in that important purchase decision," said McNeely, who represents Ottawa-Orleans. "Renters will have the option to also weigh energy costs into their choice.

"Builders of energy-efficient homes will be encouraged to build even better homes. Builders of less energy-efficient homes will have to be open to prospective purchasers."

McNeely said he's encouraged by support he's received from Energy Minister George Smitherman and Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield.

Cansfield said about 100 building companies in the province already voluntarily exceed Energy Star ratings, which provide guidelines to make new homes 30 per cent more energy efficient than those that meet minimum provincial building codes.

She called the bill an opportunity to help people choose what sort of home they want to buy.

"We give ratings to our hotels, we even give ratings to the meat we eat," Cansfield said. "Wouldn't it make sense to allow people to have choice and to make sure that when they buy the most important part of the legacy they'll leave maybe to their children, their home, that they know in fact what they are buying?"

Chris Chopik, a real estate agent and instructor for the Toronto Real Estate Board, said if the bill is passed, the real estate community would have a tool to educate prospective buyers about the importance of energy efficiency as costs continue to rise.

"Energy is the second price tag of every house," Chopik said. "The more that we can be doing today to improve the energy resiliency of Ontario homes, the more competitive Ontario will be in the future and the more valuable our housing stock will be."

Similar rules are being implemented in Nova Scotia and British Columbia and are in effect in several U.S. jurisdictions.

The bill will go to committee for further study.

Source: The Canadian Press

Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance gives Ontario an 'A' for energy conservation policies

August 12, 2008. Provincial policies on energy conservation are starting to see results. Alliance president Ken Elsey says the four top provinces (British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec) are driving energy efficiency and have joined several U.S. states in the Western Climate Initiative to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

"I'm across the country on a regular basis... seeing who's at the table. Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, B.C. - consistently there.," Elsey said.

"We need to see more participation from some of the other provinces."

Last month, Canada's provincial and territorial leaders agreed to boost energy conservation efforts to lower consumer power bills, emissions and overall demand.

The premiers committed to a 20-per-cent increase in energy efficiency by 2020 through measures such as sharing best practices and adopting green policies for any new government-funded construction. 

Read full article from the Canadian Press
More about Government of Ontario Energy Targets

Decreasing Emissions from Passenger Vehicles

Budget 2007 announced funding for a two-year ecoAUTO Rebate program for consumers who purchase fuel-efficient vehicles. The program offers rebates from $1,000 to $2,000 to people who, beginning March 20, 2007, buy or enter a long-term lease (12 months or more) for a fuel efficient vehicle. Consumers will continue to be able to collect the rebate through March 31, 2009, on eligible 2006, 2007 and 2008 model year vehicles purchased by December 31, 2008. Click for a list of eligible vehicles.

Source: The Budget Plan 2008, tabled in the House of Commons by the Honourable James M. Flaherty, P.C., M.P., Minister of Finance
February 26, 2008

Ontario residents beginning to shift towards conservation

June 18, 2008. A recent report released by the Ontario Power Authority indicates the average Ontario resident used 4.6 per cent less electricity in 2007 than in 2005.

It's a sign that attitudes in Canada are beginning to shift towards conservation - a move that can only continue in the face of high energy prices, said Chris Winter, executive director of the Conservation Council of Ontario.

"Rising energy prices are only going to make conservation more dominant as a response," Winter said.

Source: Canadian Press

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