Ontario Construction News staff writer
Hamilton will receive a boost in energy research and innovation with a $335,000 investment from the federal Green Municipal Fund (GMF) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) . The funding aims to support efforts to enhance energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city.
Two critical studies will be completed with this funding:
Hamilton Community Enterprises: $175,000 to conduct a study exploring the viability of an energy system utilizing locally available industrial residual heat as a fuel source for a proposed low-carbon thermal corridor. If successful, this project could potentially heat an area equivalent to almost 1390 football fields, or more than 80 million square feet of building space.
City of Hamilton: $160,000 to investigate the development of a home retrofit financing program. This program aims to incentivize homeowners to adopt energy-efficient improvements such as fuel switching, air sealing, insulation, and the purchase of power-saving appliances.
“Today’s announcement in Hamilton will help support affordability and climate action. By investing now in energy-efficient solutions like district heating and retrofits, we are taking the steps needed to create good-paying jobs, save consumers money, and fight climate change for years to come,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of energy and natural resources.
The Energy Harvesting Study is a step towards Hamilton’s vision of building a “state-of-the-art thermal corridor” to connect all types of buildings in Hamilton and beyond with locally generated sources of low-carbon renewable waste heat. In addition to lowering GHG emissions, the proposed green infrastructure project will help attract and retain advanced manufacturers as key contributors to the regional economy.
Hamilton West MP Filomena Tassi highlighted the potential impact on Hamilton’s journey towards Canada’s net-zero emission goals.
“The Green Municipal Fund will help carve a pathway for Hamilton to achieve Canada’s net-zero emission goals by harvesting thermal energy,” she said. “Turning wasted industrial heat into useful energy here in our City of Hamilton will decrease our building carbon footprint by about 70 per cent.”