Residential Energy Retrofit Loan Program Design Study in Waterloo Region

REEP Green Solutions intends to complete a residential energy retrofit loan program design study in collaboration with the Region of Waterloo. The study will benefit the cities of Waterloo, Cambridge and Kitchener, which make up the Region of Waterloo. REEP is an environmental non-profit charity with over 20 years of experience offering home energy audits and trusted advice to homeowners on energy savings. REEP will be responsible for managing the overall scope of work, supported by a working group of staff at Waterloo Region Community Energy and Waterloo Region. Other partners providing support will include local utilities such as Enbridge Gas, Energy Plus, Kitchener Utilities, Kitchener Wilmot Hydro, Waterloo North Hydro, and Waterloo Region Community Energy. The proposed study will follow recommendations made in a recent feasibility study on deep energy residential retrofit financing for the Region of Waterloo. The study aligns with the region’s Community Energy Investment Strategy and its 2013 Climate Action Plan. The Climate Action Plan targets a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 80% below 2010 levels by 2050. The Community Energy Investment Strategy has identified energy efficiency on existing residential homes as a top measure to reduce emissions. This includes making existing buildings more energy-efficient and seeking opportunities to retrofit 1,000 to 2,000 homes per year to achieve 15–25% electrical and heating savings by 2041. REEP will explore ways to streamline the retrofit financing application process and the retrofit process. The study will explore PACE (property assessed clean energy) and LIC (local improvement charge) financing models. It will also investigate the use of a retrofit manager or concierge to facilitate the homeowner’s experience. REEP has a rich dataset of 44,500 home energy audits performed by themselves and other service organizations in the Region of Waterloo since 1999. This data will be used to identify and characterize local housing archetypes and their associated retrofit opportunities. The program’s projected uptake and benefits will be refined as part of the study, but preliminary analysis estimates retrofitting 1,000 homes annually, resulting in energy savings of approximately 17,630 GJ per year and greenhouse gas emission reductions of 3,094 tCO2e per year. Anticipated community benefits include an increase in property value, reduced operating costs, the creation and retention of jobs, improved neighborhood cohesion, and improved resiliency to severe weather events. Innovative aspect(s): · The implementation and delivery approach leverages a vast network of partners and local utilities · The program encourages deep retrofits and includes a wide variety of eligible energy-efficiency measures, including renewable-energy measures and stormwater-management measures · The proposed initiative includes a retrofit manager or concierge to facilitate homeowners’ experience Replicability: The proposed regional approach has built-in mechanisms for active replication in Ontario and other Canadian municipalities. The proposed initiative considers opportunities to share lessons learned and attend virtual meetings with national networks and other funded recipients to exchange, collaborate and share resource materials to help one another understand and design efficient home energy retrofit programs. (Project description from original funding application)