Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Are there grants or financial incentives for making my home more energy efficient?
• What is "clean energy"?
• Who is this Portal for?
• How do I use the Portal?
• I need to find a company to help me install a renewable energy system. Can you recommend one?

Are there grants or financial incentives for making my home more energy efficient?

Yes. The federal government's Office of Energy Efficiency has a grant program, the Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit Grants, to encourage home energy efficiency. To be eligible, your house must undergo an EnerGuide for Houses Evaluation (contact an energy evaluator in your area for exact pricing information), you must follow the energy evaluator's after evaluation recommendations, and you must achieve a minimum improvement.

Look here for other related incentives.

What is "clean energy"?

Although there appears to be no strict definition, clean energy is any energy that causes little or no harm to the environment. Wind energy, solar energy (in all its forms--photovoltaic, geothermal, solar thermal, etc.), hydrogen and fuel cells, wave and tidal energy, and biomass are all examples of clean energy. In this portal, clean energy encompasses "green" and "renewable" energy, but also includes entities such as building systems and enhanced conventional power.

Who is this Portal for?

In general, the Portal was designed for basically everyone interested in clean energy technologies, which includes:

• Canadian providers of clean energy products and services, including consultants, manufacturers, and distributors, designers, etc.;
• People interested in clean energy for gaining knowledge and/or to implement technologies;
• Companies (in all sectors) who want to find technologies that will make their business more environmentally friendly and/or save them money on electricity;
• Domestic or non-Canadian companies or governments who are seeking financial assistance to help fund their clean energy projects;
• Companies looking to take part in clean energy initiatives/projects abroad;
• Domestic federal, provincial, municipal and/or regulatory entities; and
• Research and development organizations.

How do I use the Portal?

Everything you need on the site can be accessed through the Navigation Menu on the left side of the screen.

The Canadian Technology Directory submenu houses the Canadian clean energy technology companies. The companies are further sorted into submenus, so as to provide easier navigation. For certain areas, there are technology descriptions.

The Associations submenu houses, as its name suggests, Canadian associations related to clean energy technologies.

The Financing submenu houses places where companies can find financial aid/funding. Companies can look through Canadian funding initiatives, International Funding Initiatives, or Specific Countries Funding Initiatives.

The International submenu houses clean energy information for 60 countries.

The Canada submenu houses Canadian Activities (energy technology projects being conducted in Canada by Canadian firms), Initiatives (Canadian programs, which are normally government-sponsored, that promote a particular area of energy development), and Events (conferences, trade missions, meetings, forums, workshops, key trade shows, and calls for proposals).

The Other Resources submenu houses different forms of initiatives.

The Virtual Library submenu houses clean energy related documents, reports, and presentations from companies and organizations.

I need to find a company to help me install a renewable energy system. Can you recommend one?

No, the Portal is not in a position to recommend any one company, product or service. The Portal is designed to be a gateway to help people/companies get access to clean energy technology information from a variety of sources. If there is a clean energy system company in your area, odds are high that we will have it listed in our Canadian Technology Directory (if not, please let us know). Spend a few minutes looking around and reading the different technologies' descriptions, then when you have found the technology of interest to you, browse the listed companies and we are confident that you will find what you are looking for.