Commercial Building Incentive Program (CBIP)

Eligibility Criteria

Any new commercial, multi-residential (apartments), institutional, municipal or provincial building or any new building owned by a Crown corporation set out in Schedule 111, Part 2 of the Financial Administration Act, that will be heated or cooled and is intended for occupancy may be eligible for a CBIP contribution.

To qualify for the incentive, a building must be at least 25% more energy-efficient than if it were constructed to meet the requirements of the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB). Published in September 1997, the MNECB is a comprehensive energy efficiency building code that takes into account variations in regional climate conditions and energy costs, a first for Canada.

Summary

To encourage builders of small commercial buildings to participate in CBIP, NRCan has developed prescriptive packages of energy efficiency improvements for specific types of buildings. When included in the design, these improvements will be deemed to meet the qualifying level.

Incentive
CBIP is intended to help offset the extra cost of designing higher efficiency buildings. The design costs of buildings that meet the program criteria can be reimbursed by a one-time financial incentive equal to twice the difference between the estimated annual energy costs for the approved design and the estimated annual energy costs if the building were constructed to the MNECB standard, to a maximum of $60 000 or the total design cost, whichever is less.

How CBIP Works
Step 1: Submit a completed Expression of Interest Form.

Step 2: NRCan will contact the building owner, or authorized representative, to discuss eligibility of the project and the range of incentive.

Step 3: Submit appropriate design documentation, i.e. completed Prescriptive/Performance worksheets.

Step 4: NRCan verifies that the design qualifies for an incentive and forwards a Contribution Agreement for the owner's signature. The signed Contribution Agreement must be returned to NRCan.

Step 5: Owner sends initial Payment Request Form. If all terms and conditions of the Program have been met, NRCan will forward 80% of the incentive payment to the building owner.

Step 6: Final payment of 20% will be forwarded once NRCan receives proof of completion of construction according to the design specifications and a Final Request Payment Request Form.

To find out if your building is eligible for CBIP or for more information about the initiative, contact the account manager for the region in which your building is located.

Alberta Contact(s):
See National Contact.