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ecoENERGY Retrofit Incentive for Industry: Questions and Answers
- Eligibility criteria
- Basis and timing of payment
- Selecting an energy retrofit contractor
- Application process
- CIPEC Leaders
| A. | Eligibility criteria |
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| A1 | What facilities are eligible for a Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) ecoENERGY Retrofit incentive? |
ecoENERGY Retrofit Incentive for Industry provides a financial incentive to help small- and medium-sized industrial facilities implement energy-saving projects. To be eligible for assistance, an industrial facility must:
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| A2 | May a company apply more than once? |
| Yes. A facility can apply for a retrofit incentive once over a 12 month period to a maximum of $50,000 per application. The corporate maximum over the four year life of the program is $250,000. Therefore a single facility can apply a maximum of four times, or a company with more than one facility can apply for more than one incentive in a 12-month period, provided that each application is for a different facility. | |
| A3 | Will NRCan fund a retrofit project that is being partially funded by a utility and/or another government department or agency? |
| Yes. In their application form, companies must indicate how much financial support they are receiving or expect to receive from other sources, such as a utility and/or other government program, including provincial and territorial. NRCan will then cost-share the balance of the eligible costs not covered by the other sources. Several utilities and provinces/territories have programs to assist companies with capital retrofit projects, and companies are encouraged to explore such opportunities. | |
| A4 | What kinds of projects can receive funding from the ecoENERGY Retrofit Incentive for Industry? |
| Eligible projects are those that retrofit existing industrial buildings, systems and processes; that demonstrate measurable energy savings; and that have a net simple payback period of more than 12 months based on energy savings. To help companies determine the eligibility of their project(s), NRCan provides a sample list of eligible and ineligible projects. | |
| B. | Basis and timing of payment |
| B1 | Can an application cover more than one retrofit project? |
| Yes, the application template that is provided by NRCan allows for more than one project per application. | |
| B2 | How is NRCan's incentive calculated? |
The maximum amount payable per application is $50,000. The incentive will be calculated net of funding from other sources and will be the lowest of the following amounts:
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| B3 | Can a company submit an application for a project that has taken place or that is underway? |
| No. NRCan does not retroactively support energy retrofit projects that are in progress or that have already been completed. Work cannot start until NRCan has approved the Contribution Agreement. | |
| B4 | What must a company submit to NRCan in order to be reimbursed for a portion of the retrofit project costs? |
| Companies must submit a claim form provided by NRCan, along with relevant supporting documentation such as equipment invoices and all other relevant receipts for eligible costs. Claims must be received by NRCan within four months of the end date of the agreement and certified by a senior financial officer of the company. | |
| B5 | How long does it take to receive a cheque from NRCan? |
| About 30 days from the time a claim form with proper supporting documentation is approved by NRCan. | |
| C. | Selecting an energy retrofit contractor |
| C1 | Does NRCan recommend contractors to implement energy retrofits? |
| No. Companies can use their in-house expertise or can choose an external consultant to do the project. However, the technical proposal MUST be certified by either a Professional Engineer or a Certified Engineering Technologist. To help companies locate a contractor, NRCan has developed the Energy Management Services Directory. | |
| C2 | What happens if a company is dissatisfied with the work performed by the contractor? |
| The company and the contractor are responsible for handling any conflicts. If a company does not pay a contractor for services related to the energy audit, then NRCan cannot reimburse the company. | |
| D. | Application process |
| D1 | Is there a deadline for submitting applications to NRCan? |
| The approval period for this program is April 1, 2007, to March 31, 2011, subject to the availability of funds. To accommodate plant maintenance and production schedules, as well as budget planning cycles, a facility can submit an application at any time within this period. | |
| D2 | What technical information must a company provide in its application? |
| NRCan has designed an application form that outlines all the required information, including an explanation of the project(s), a baseline measurement of energy use, an estimation of energy savings from the project and system or equipment specifications. | |
| D3 | How long does the application approval process take? |
| NRCan tries to approve an incentive application within 30 working days, assuming that the application is complete, the project proposal meets the technical requirements and the company has registered with NRCan as a CIPEC Leader. | |
| D4 | How long does a company have to complete its retrofit project(s)? |
| Once the application is approved, NRCan will contact you to establish a Contribution Agreement (CA). Once the CA is signed, the facility must complete implementation of the project(s) by the agreed-upon date in the CA, which will not exceed 12 months. The incentive will be paid once the project is completed and proper supporting documentation has been submitted. NRCan reserves the right to audit any project to verify that the energy savings claimed have been achieved and to adjust the incentive accordingly. | |
| D5 | Does NRCan make information about the facility's retrofit project(s) available to the public? |
| All retrofit project information marked "Proprietary Business Information" will be treated as commercially confidential. No release of specific information will be made without the approval of the facility's owner.
From time-to-time NRCan will prepare and release non-attributable, statistical information on the audit incentives and assessments of potential energy savings in order to show responsible management of the incentive funds, to encourage others to reduce energy use and to demonstrate value to the public. Companies are expected to co-operate with program evaluation requirements and to provide additional or supplementary information that is requested for that purpose. |
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| E. | CIPEC Leaders |
| E1 | How can a company find out if it is already registered as a CIPEC Leader? |
| Contact NRCan by e-mail or check on the CIPEC site, which lists all CIPEC Leaders. | |
| E2 | Does a company have to register as a CIPEC Leader before applying for the incentive? |
| Many companies register as CIPEC Leaders at the same time that they apply for the ecoENERGY Retrofit Incentive. A sample letter of commitment to become a CIPEC Leader is available online. | |
| E3 | Is there a membership and/or annual membership fee to register as an CIPEC Leader? |
| No. The information, tools and services provided to Innovators are free of charge, except for Dollars to $ense energy management workshops where CIPEC Leader companies receive a 33 percent discount off the registration fee. | |
| E4 | Are there mandatory reporting requirements for CIPEC Leaders? |
| No. The CIPEC Leaders initiative is voluntary. However, to help NRCan track the progress of Canadian industry in reducing energy intensity and emissions, CIPEC Leader companies are encouraged to submit a report annually summarizing their energy efficiency practices. To simplify this reporting, NRCan has developed a template that takes about 20 minutes to complete. | |
| E5 | Is there any special recognition for a company that registers as a CIPEC Leader? |
| Yes. NRCan sends the company a plaque and includes their name in the Annual Report of the Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation. More than 1000 of Canada's leading industrial facilities are CIPEC Leaders. | |
| E6 | Does a company have to formally set and commit to energy and emission reduction targets when it signs up as a CIPEC Leader? |
| No. CIPEC Leaders is a voluntary initiative that encourages companies to set targets for themselves and to track their progress. |
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