SDTC issues 9th call for cleantech funding
Canadian cleantech companies have until March 15 to apply for project funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, which issued its 9th call for funding today. For the first time SDTC is including technologies that help clean up water and soil.
“Prospective clean water technologies will look to optimize Canada’s water and waste-water infrastructure, improve water conservation, update existing diagnostic tools and methods, and address public concern over drinking water safety. Soil-improvement technologies will aim to prevent, treat or contain the contamination of soil, improve water retention, crop yield and vegetation cover, and support brownfield redevelopment to enhance land value and use. Solutions that mitigate environmental impacts such as soil remediation, or that remove pollution and generate value such as brownfield redevelopment, will also be considered.”
Since April 2002 SDTC has allocated $169 million to 75 clean technology projects, an amount that has been matched with $446 million from project consortia members, mostly from the private sector.
SDTC has $550 million in its investment fund. Vicky Sharpe, president and CEO, told me last week that the organization’s mandate lasts until 2015 but most of the money will be allocated by 2010. Between now and then projects that began receiving funding in 2002 will gradually be completed and reviewed. “We’ve had seven in 2005 that have been completed or are in the final throws of putting out their report,” she said, pointing out that Carmanah Technologies and DynaMotive Energy Systems investments are examples so far of projects that have been completed and are now producing commercial sales.
Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
