Feasibility study for a home energy retrofit financing program in the City of Kelowna

The City of Kelowna will study the potential for a home energy retrofit financing program to support city-wide deep energy retrofits and help achieve its ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets. This initiative is supported by Kelowna’s Community Energy and Emissions Inventory (2017), Healthy Housing Strategy (2018), and Community Climate Action Plan (2018), which calls for the investigation of financing models to encourage the existing building stock to become more energy efficient. A financing program would enable homeowners to make energy-efficient upgrades to their homes while repaying the costs over time. The city has contracted Lightspark Energy and the Community Energy Association to complete the study. The study aims to achieve the following: 1. Evaluate the potential for energy upgrades and GHG emissions reductions for the existing low-rise residential building stock 2. Anticipate potential program uptake and local benefits 3. Identify key stakeholders and ways to address barriers to home energy financing and existing energy-efficiency programs 4. Explore the available financing models (PACE, utility on-bill and third-party) and recommend the preferred option(s), if any, for Kelowna While the program’s projected uptake and anticipated benefits will be refined as part of the study, an earlier analysis estimated that 526 households would participate over four years, resulting in energy savings of approximately 26,514 GJ per year and GHG emissions reductions of 658.4 tCO2e per year. Community benefits would likely include post-pandemic economic recovery through the creation of local jobs and energy equipment sales, as well as improved home comfort, occupant health, energy bill savings and climate adaptation in the face of increased wildfire and flooding risks in the region. Innovative aspects: · Lightspark Energy uses state-of-the-art data gathering and analytics to produce a portrait of the potential energy and GHG emissions savings for the city, which could inform home energy financing programs across Canada · While Kelowna could partner with FortisBC (the local utility for both electricity and natural gas) on a utility on-bill financing program, the city also owns and operates the local water utility, which may present a unique opportunity Replicability: · The study will explore three different financing models that have been limited in the region to date, and the results of this analysis could provide valuable information to municipalities across the province · The methodology and financing model options analysis could be replicated by municipalities across Canada · The city intends to present the results of this study to neighboring municipal governments, local industry stakeholders and the province, and it will also participate in FCM-led peer learning activities (Project description from original funding application)