Community energy systems feasibility study
A grant for Canadian municipalities and qualifying partners to complete detailed feasibility work for a low-carbon energy system serving multiple buildings or systems.
Cette fiche est actuellement disponible en anglais.
Develop the design for a district-energy, solar, geothermal, wind, heat-recovery or other low-carbon community energy system. The study can cover detailed design, local energy supply and end users, costs and revenue, project ownership and financing, stakeholder engagement, approvals, climate risk and an equity assessment.
The standard grant covers up to 50% of eligible costs, to a maximum of C$200,000. Municipalities and partners serving smaller populations, regional groups, eligible Indigenous communities and northern communities may qualify for up to 80%. First-time northern and eligible Indigenous applicants may qualify for up to 100%. The C$200,000 cap also applies when a business case and feasibility study are combined as one project.
Eligibility
Canadian municipal governments can apply. Companies, municipally owned corporations, regional, provincial or territorial organisations delivering municipal services, NGOs, nonprofits and research institutes can apply as municipal partners. A non-municipal applicant must deliver the project with a municipal government. An Indigenous community can lead if it partners with a Canadian municipality or has a relevant shared-service agreement with one.
Your feasibility study must build on a business case that has already assessed suitable low-carbon energy systems and your capacity to implement them. You may instead combine the business case and feasibility study in one funded project.
The proposed system must meet these requirements:
- a district-energy project must serve at least two buildings;
- a renewable-electricity system must be able to power multiple systems and buildings; and
- a thermal-energy project must be designed to reduce emissions from fossil-fuel or grid-electricity use by at least 40% against current performance within three years of implementation.
Biomass combustion must be part of a broader low-carbon district-energy system. In grid-connected communities, harvested wood is not an eligible fuel, and biomass combined heat and power is excluded. Biomass may provide backup heat only as part of a broader system that also integrates heat recovery and renewable electricity. Northern communities that rely on fossil-fuel electricity are assessed case by case.
How to apply
- Statut
- Candidatures au fil de l’eau
- Conditions de cette période de candidature
- Applications are accepted while programme funding remains available.
Create a client profile and submit a pre-application through the FCM funding portal. If Green Municipal Fund confirms that your organisation and project can proceed, complete the full application, project workbook and supporting documents in the portal.
Quebec municipalities must also follow the provincial MAMH submission route described on the official offer page.