The Climate Change Emissions Management Corporation ("CCEMC") has announced that it is offering up to $40 million to fund energy efficiency projects in 2012.
Eric Newell, chair of the CCEMC stated that the focus of this, the CCEMC's sixth round of funding, is on "energy efficiency projects that hold great potential but would not otherwise be feasible without additional support" and that " [the CCEMC] want to be a catalyst" for energy efficiency in the province.
Provincial law requires that companies that emit more than 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gasses annually are to reduce those emissions by 12 per cent, or pay for emissions offsets. Companies emitting more than 100,000 tonnes may contribute to the Climate Change Emissions Management Fund as a means of paying for offsets. To date, the CCEMC has approved 32 energy efficiency projects worth $167 million. These investments are responsible for $830 million worth of research and development. The CCEMC hopes that some of the energy efficiency projects that it has funded in previous funding rounds will be nearing the commercialization stage this year.
Eligible applicants for funding include organizations that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, as well as municipalities, and utilities and commercial operations that can estimate their emissions reductions based on Alberta's emissions protocols.
The CCEMC will match up to one third of private sector cash contributions to a maximum of $7 million for each successful applicant. The energy efficiency projects must be in Alberta, however development work can be done elsewhere provided that this work leads to an energy efficient installation in Alberta.
Information sessions are planned for May of this year. The deadline for energy efficient project proposals is July 5, 2012. Full project proposals for selected projects will be invited in the fall of this year. For more information, visit the CCEMC's website at www.ccemc.ca.
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