Green Building Leaders

Designing a Renewable Energy Requirement for B.C.

Solar West 2011Claire Beckstead

The Pembina Institute

2

Green Buildings = low GHGs

Cleaner energyLess energy

Project OverviewGreen Building Leaders

Objectives:1)Work collaboratively with leading

local governments and other stakeholders to assist in the design of green building regulations, and

2)Set the stage for the adoption of these regulations in B.C.

Green Building LeadersPartner Communities• Campbell River• City of North

Vancouver• Cowichan Valley

Regional District• Dawson Creek• Delta• District of West

Vancouver

• Fort St. John• Prince George• Regional District

of Nanaimo• Terrace• Tofino• Whistler

Research Areas• Higher energy performance

standards in new buildings• Minimum energy performance

standards in existing buildings• Minimum renewable energy

standards for new and existing buildings

• Innovative financing programs

Research Areas• Higher energy performance

standards in new buildings• Minimum energy performance

standards in existing buildings• Minimum renewable energy standards

for new and existing buildings• Innovative financing programs

Research to date• Research

policies approaches

• GHG modeling for each partner community

• Cost analysis• Legal analysis –

jurisdiction

Local Government JurisdictionLocal government have limited

tools to implement a local regulations

Example: Development Permit Area to require energy efficiency and renewable energy on new developments

Proposed Approach• Develop a province-wide

renewable energy requirement with an option for local governments to opt-in

What is an RER?

Key benefits of RERs• Reduced greenhouse

gas emissions and energy use

• Progress towards net-zero energy

• Potential to encourage further energy efficiency

• Potential for economic growth and job creation

Impact of RER in Merton:• Combined impact of London’s policy has been

a 26% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions - even though the policy only requires a 10% reduction.

• Costs have been lower than anticipated• The pace and scale of development hasn’t

changed.• The administration’s workload has remained

relatively unchanged.• Significant growth has been spurred in the

renewable technology economy.• Energy efficiency investments have increased.

Next Steps

•Finalize the proposed design for the BC RER•Communicate results and develop support for implementation in BC

Thank You

Thank you!Questions?

Claire Becksteadclaireb@pembina.org604-874-8558 ext.228