Lighting the way: An assessment of energy conservation in Ontario

Ontario Climate Policy Gaps

Lighting the wayAn assessment of energy conservation in OntarioJune 28, 20161

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Conservation: Lets Get SeriousJune 28, 2016, Presentation to Climate Change Lawyers Network

Kyra Bell-Pasht,Emily Cooper,Mike Parkes

Environmental Commissioner of Ontario

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OverviewWhere are we now?Ontario climate law, targets, and CCAPTrends in energy useValuing conservationConservation opportunities:Energy codes and standardsTransportation fuelsBuilding energy benchmarking3

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Role of the Environmental CommissionerIndependent officer of Ontario legislatureGuardian of public legal rights to participate in environmental decision-making (EBR)Watchdog on Ontario environmental law and policy:Three annual reports: environmental protection, energy conservation, greenhouse gas emissions reductions

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Climate Change Mitigation and Low-Carbon Economy ActLegal requirement to cut GHGs, from 1990 baseline:15% by 2020; 37% by 2030; 80% by 2050!

Price on carbon through cap-and-trade

Reinvestment of revenue on projects to reduce emissions~$1.9 B/year to Greenhouse Gas Reduction AccountTo be spent as per Action Plan (large focus on conservation)

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Conservations role in reducing GHG emissionsIEA: About 40% of the reductions we need by 2050:6

Is energy conservation working so far in Ontario?7

Total energy use is flatEnergy use per capita (all fuels) down 7% from 2007 to 2014

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Current energy use

80% fossil fuelsEvery fossil fuel, except coal, is up since 2007

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Rebalancing conservation96X more spending on conserving electricity than natural gas in 2014 Need more effort on conserving fossil fuels

Carbon pricing will help, but is it enough?

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Conservation is cost-effective (even if we dont care about carbon)10

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Public support may be at riskResentment over rate increases

Confusion over electricity surplus

Need full transparency for impact evaluation

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How to value carbon benefits of conservation?Interim approach: 15% adder in cost-effectiveness testing for all non-energy benefits. Too low?Affects conservation budgets12

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For electricity, it also matters when we conserveElectricity conservation has more economic and environmental value when it displaces gas-fired generationConservation framework needs focusMarginal generation data not public13

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Fossil fuel subsidies14$628 M in Ontario tax breaks for fossil fuels

At cross-purposes to cap and trade

Good tax policy?

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OverviewWhere are we now?Ontario climate law, targets, and CCAPTrends in energy use and role of energy conservationValuing conservationConservation opportunities:Energy codes and standardsTransportation fuelsBuilding energy benchmarking15

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Product efficiency standardsRecent Ontario regulatory updates:Harmonize with many U.S. standards; Proposed (stricter) Ontario-specific standards for many HVAC products most abandoned or watered downECO:Standards for water fixtures (water = embodied energy)Authority to enforce compliance

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Building Code: Continuous ImprovementEnergy use intensity has fallen by 13% on average every five yearsVoluntary programs (e.g. ENERGY STAR) have paved way for Code improvements

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Codes and standards in the action planNet zero carbon small buildings in the Building Code by 2030Enabling authority for municipalities to exceed Code requirements Energy efficiency standards for equipment in water and wastewater treatment plants

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Will begin with a quick overview of where we are now in energy conservation, and how we might need to rebalance our priorities 19

Transportation: a huge challenge20

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Tackling Ontarios dependence on fossil-fueled transportation21Key legal levers:Vehicle efficiency standardsLower-carbon fuel standards Building CodeLand use plans

1. Vehicle Efficiency22Vehicle efficiency standards (federal)Passenger Automobile and Light Truck Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations

Passenger vehicles40% improved fuel efficiency (2010-2025)Light trucks 37% improved fuel efficiency (2010-2025)

Passenger Automobile and Light Truck Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations (into effect 2010, amended 2014)Stats from Environment Canada, Emissions Trends, 2014, p.16-1722

2. Lower-Carbon Fuel Standards

23Renewable fuel-content reqs. (provincial)O. Reg. 535/05 (Ethanol in Gasoline)O. Reg. 97/14 (Greener Diesel Renewable Fuel Content Reqs. for Petroleum Diesel Fuel)

Reduction in sectors overall GHGs = minimal

CCAP announces Renewable Fuels StandardsGasoline: 5% reduction in GHGsNatural gas: ?

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2.a) Lowest carbon fuels: Electricity & HydrogenRole for energy industry: Match customer charging to electric utility needsMaximize off-peak chargingSmart grid technologies/innovative programs

Role for Government (per CCAP 2016)Charging infrastructureIncentives Targets (5% of sales by 2020)EducationElectric school bus pilotHOV /HOT accessBuilding Code updates

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PoliciesLaw

BUT: a single EV plugged into a fast charger can double a homes peak electricity demand. (http://www.silverspringnet.com/wp-content/uploads/SilverSpring-Whitepaper-ElectricVehicles.pdf) Toronto Hydros Smart charging pilot program24

3. Building CodeOBC currently being updated

ECO recommended Code require new buildings to be EV ready

CCAP 2016 :All new homes with garages to be EV ready (as of 2018)EV ready workplaces (as of 2018)EV Requirements for existing condominiums and apartment buildings (2017/2018)

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4. Land Planning: Major long-term opportunityCurrently underway.Co-ordinated Land Use Planning Review of Niagara Escarpment PlanOak Ridges Moraine Conservation PlanGreenbelt PlanGrowth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (the Growth Plan) Amendments now posted on the EBR until Sept 30th

Metrolinx Regional Transportation Plan reviewMTO developing Regional Multimodal Plan27

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4. Land Planning (contd)Highlights of the proposed Growth Plan Amendments:intensification target from 40% to 60% density target for greenfield areas from 50 to 80 residents & jobs/hectareminimum density targets for major transit station areas municipalities to integrate climate change into municipal official plans and conduct climate change vulnerability risk assessments for infrastructure municipalities to develop GHG inventories, GHG reduction targets and related performance measures28

Increasing the minimum intensification target from 40% to 60% of residential development within the built up area of the upper- or single-tier municipality. Increasing the minimum density target for designated greenfield areas from 50 to 80 residents and jobs/hectare, across the upper- or single-tier municipality (Growth Plan).

In 2014, the ECO reported that despite the Growth Plans goal of intensification, the Ontario government had authorized lower alternative intensification and greenfield density targets for many municipalities in the outer-ring of the Greater Golden Horseshoe beyond the Greenbelt, allowing communities to continue a pattern of low density development that is too sparse to support even basic transit services (Rocky Rollout of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe,ECOs 2013/2014 Annual Report).28


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Ontario-Specific Building Data is Now AvailableEnergy and GHG emission information for some Ontario buildings is available from the Ontario governments Open Data website.Since 2012, broader public sector buildings have reported annual energy and GHG emissions data under O. Reg. 397/11. 15,000+ facilities submit this information to the Ministry of Energy. Open Data allows anyone to download spreadsheets of this data: https://www.ontario.ca/data/energy-use-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions-broader-public-sector

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Open Data: Sample Spreadsheet

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Buildings: transparencyMandatory reporting by 15,000 buildings in the Broader Public Sector (O. Reg. 397/11)Who are the energy hogs?33

Website shows energy use data for all buildings in BPS data set, how building energy use ranks as compared to others in its category, and the potential for energy and cost savings.

Data on OPS/federal buildings not available (yet).

Visit Emily after the presentation for a demonstration...

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Admin & Storage Facilities2,057,002,060 ekWh/yrHospitals & Emergency Response 4,746,486,624 ekWh/yr

Schools, Universities, Colleges and Libraries8,548,905,751 ekWh/yr

H2O & Sewage1,595,722,106 ekWh/yr

Community, Sports, & Rec Centres1,774,408,680 ekWh/yrWhere energy is used in the BPS

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Energy Use Intensity in BPS BuildingsGood and bad performers in all categories of buildings.35

(In case question comes up, red = Admin and storage facilities. Most of the very high EUI buildings in red appear to be transportation facilities not sure why their EUI is so high. The completely flat line (many buildings with the same EUI) is an artifact of the data cleaning, which set EUI for data points above the 95th percentile in each category equal to the 95th percentile, so actual EUI at these facilities may be higher.)35

Large variations in energy intensityBuildings with the same function perform very differently 36

Note: Data is weather-normalized (energy use per heating degree day per square foot per year) so it accounts for the fact that buildings in northern Ontario have a greater demand for heat.36

Energy Use Intensity for Torontos Public Libraries37

The most energy intensive library uses 8x more energy per square foot per year than the least energy efficient library.

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Huge potential savings .35% energy savings; 1 MT/yr GHG reduction; $450M in utility bills.

Data based on bringing all BPS buildings down to the energy use intensity of buildings currently at the top quartile (25th percentile)

Experience has shown that there are often very low-cost savings for poorly performing buildings from simple operational and maintenance improvements38

Buildings: action planPublic sector: 50% reduction from 2006 by 2030Moving towards carbon neutralityFunding for schools, universities, hospitalsUse of ESCOsEnergy and water reporting and benchmarking by large private buildings Pre-sale audits/disclosure for homes

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ConclusionsWeve revamped our energy report to emphasize critical link between energy and climate change.

Conservation is working.Energy use is decoupling from economic growth.Conservation portfolios are cost-effective, even without placing a price on carbon.

But theres still room for improvement.Ontario lacks the authority to enforce compliance with product standards.We await the details on lower-carbon fuel standards, electricity grid planning for increased electrification, and better land-planning.Data from BPS buildings shows we still have a huge opportunity to improve energy efficiency.

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- About half of our recommendations were in the Climate Change Action Plan40

Continuing the conversationReport: eco.on.ca/reports/2016-lets-get-serious/

Hot topics for 2017?

Questions?

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Can invite members to visit our website pitch topics for our 2017 report41

Thanks!Sign up for ECO updates and blog ateco.on.ca

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