In an attempt to turbocharge the economy, federal minister of natural resources, Lisa Raitt, made an appearance on Monday, Jan. 11 at Enbridge's North York headquarters where she announced a $146 million investment in new energy projects across Canada.
Granted through the Clean Energy Fund, 19 initiatives designed to demonstrate new clean energy options will be eligible to receive up to $20 million each over the next five years. Both Enbridge Inc. and CEATI International Inc. have Toronto locations included on the list with each listed as being expected to receive a maximum of $5 million in federal funding.
"For years we have been very active in Toronto in energy efficiency programs at all levels including residential, commercial and industrial," said Janet Holder, president of Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. after the funding was announced. "We are always looking at ways for our customers to reduce their energy consumption."
With the investment of government money to supplement the financial contributions from Enbridge, plans for a project designed to provide more information on solar technology to consumers can get underway.
Residences in Toronto would be fitted with different types of solar collectors and storage technologies. The results would aid in comparison shopping in terms of costs, performance and technical qualities. The new money was not given to develop new technology, but to demonstrate how current clean energy can be put to better use.
Enbridge is currently running a solar water heating program and have also eliminated 22 parking spaces in their main lot to accommodate a giant Hybrid Fuel Cell, capable of powering about 1,700 homes in Toronto using energy from gas distribution operations that would have otherwise gone to waste.
Getting a complete tour of the Hybrid Fuel Cell system after her announcement, Raitt had explained how investing in tomorrow's technologies should also provide some short-term benefits, hopefully stimulating job growth through funding such projects.
"Canada's economic action plan is investing in 19 innovative projects that will help bring Canada to the forefront of clean energy technology, while creating high-quality jobs for Canadians," said Raitt.
There isn't yet a concrete plan about the solar heating project, but more details are expected from Enbridge in the near future.