Designing a residential heat pump financing program in the City of New Westminster, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, and the District of Squamish

The City of New Westminster, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, and the District of Squamish will partner on a program design study to develop a one-stop-shop financing program to increase air source heat pump (ASHP) adoption among homeowners. The program is envisioned to bolster adoption through public outreach, bulk ASHP procurement, capacity-building of local contractors, and improved access to existing municipal and provincial incentives. The province’s Clean BC Homes program offers low-interest loans for ASHPs through their lending partner Financeit; alternatively, homeowners with private financing can access provincial rebates of up to $3,000. New Westminster and Whistler also offer top-up rebates of $350 and $2,000, respectively. If successful, the study will generate two program designs: one for operation in New Westminster and one for shared operation in Whistler and Squamish. The study will be led by the Community Energy Association (CEA), a non-profit consultant that has helped design and deliver more than 30 home energy retrofit programs across the province. In close collaboration with New Westminster, Whistler and Squamish, CEA will do the following: assess the three municipal landscapes; engage with stakeholders; develop program targets and approaches; refine the program design; create monitoring and implementation plans; and prepare the final design study. The program will target single-family detached and semi-detached homes with natural gas, propane or oil heating systems. With electricity across British Columbia generated almost entirely by renewable energy, fuel-switching to an electric ASHP will reduce greenhouse gas emissions per home by 95% or more. Approximately 90% of the eligible housing stock in the three municipalities uses fossil-fuel heating systems, and the program anticipates that 10,235 homes will participate over 17 years. This would result in energy savings of 646,147 GJ and greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 24,973 tCO2e. Economic and social benefits include market transformation, local job creation, public education and home utility bill savings. The region is also experiencing longer and hotter summers and more wildfires; the adoption of ASHPs, which can also cool and purify indoor air, will increase asset resiliency, air quality and home comfort. This initiative is supported by ambitious provincial climate targets as well as the following: New Westminster’s Climate Action Budgeting Framework (2020), which mandates that all new and replacement heating systems in homes be zero-emissions by 2030; Whistler’s Climate Action Big Moves Strategy (2020), which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from residential buildings by 20% by 2030; and Squamish’s Community Climate Action Plan (2020), which calls for decarbonizing existing buildings through retrofits and upgrades. Innovative aspect(s): · The program focuses on a single technology that can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the residential sector · By sourcing high-performance equipment, purchasing in bulk to reduce costs, pre-qualifying contractors, facilitating access to financial incentives, and offering end-to-end homeowner support, the program has chosen methods that ensure success, which could inform other ASHP programs across the province · The study will design one program for New Westminster (an urban centre) and one shared program for Whistler and Squamish (under 20,000 residents each), which could provide valuable insights to municipalities of all sizes Replicability: · The collective study approach could be replicated by municipal cohorts across Canada that are seeking to achieve efficiencies and maximize regional impacts · The study will generate templates, tools and resources that can be shared with other municipalities through various networks, including Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) and B.C.’s Building Electrification Road Map Working Group · CEA also participates in several working groups and networks, and has already engaged the City of North Vancouver, the District of North Vancouver and the City of West Vancouver, which have all expressed interest in the initiative (Project description from original funding application)