The Canadian government boosted its incentives for home energy retrofits yesterday by 25 per cent for most items, which the Ontario government said it would match. It’s all part of an effort to stimulate “green” home renovations as part of a larger effort to kickstart economic activity.

I said “most” items because solar thermal hot water systems got an even greater boost. The current rebate is $500 from the federal government, matched by a further $500 from Ontario. The feds increased its rebate dramatically to $1,250. So if Ontario matches, as it says it will, that will mean anyone who purchases and installs a residential solar hot water system will get $2,500 back. Not bad, considering you can get a system for as low as $6,000.

Expect more “thermal” and energy efficiency announcements from Ontario in the coming weeks. Here’s my article in the Star if you want some more details.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory just put out a report on the potential of combined heat and power (CHP) deployments in the United States and has concluded that it is one of the “most proven and effective near-term energy options” available to reduce CO2 emissions, improve energy security, relieve grid congestion, make industry more competitive, and create green-collar jobs. (more…)

The City of Toronto has launched two funds that will make it easier for schools, churches, hospitals and other not-for-profit sectors to reduce their carbon footprint.

The $42 million Toronto Energy Conservation Fund and the $20 million Toronto Green Energy Fund, created as part of the city’s climate action plan, make available zero-interest loans for projects that aim to make buildings more energy efficient or bigger users of green energy. Up to $1 million will be available for individual projects, on the condition that the funding represents no more than 49 per cent of total project costs. Both new and retrofit building projects, including those involving municipal buildings, are eligible.

It’s a great idea, particularly during the current credit crunch, and we need to see more of the same. In fact, the city might want to check out what’s going on in Berkeley, Calif., where residents can install solar panels and pay for them over 20 years through a line item on their property tax bill. A company called Renewable Funding is administering the program, which could apply to a range of renewable energy and efficiency measures.

There’s a tendency during times of economic trouble to cast eco-friendly policies as risky, expensive, dangerous and reckless, and this is exactly what Prime Minister Stephen Harper did in the lead-up to last week’s Canadian federal election. Thanks to the effectiveness of the media soundbite, it worked. The public got scared, embraced the “steady as she goes” line, and pretty much derailed any hope of serious federal action on climate change and clean-technology development (beyond carbon capture for use in enhanced oil recovery). Fortunately, Canadian provinces are picking up a lot of the slack.

Still, it would be good for provincial officials to read a new study out of the University of California, Berkeley, which found that aggressive energy-efficiency policies embraced by California between 1977 and 2007 created nearly 1.5 million jobs, far outstripping the 25,000 jobs such policies eliminated (hat tip to Joe Romm for the tip at Climate Progress, where he provides his own take on the study). (more…)

Ford Motor Co. has released test results showing that drivers, when properly trained, can boost their fuel economy by an average of 24 per cent. “The 48 total drivers who took part in the validation tests saw results ranging from 6 percent fuel economy improvement to more than 50 percent, depending on their driving style and ability to master eco-driving behaviors,” according to a release from Ford. ”Eco-driving instructors coached drivers to employ smoother breaking and accelerating, monitor their RPMs and drive at a moderate speed.” (more…)