Studies to design organic-waste energy systems
Grants up to CAD 200,000 for Canadian municipalities and their partners to design systems that recover energy from organic waste, landfill gas or waste heat.
Denne finansieringsmuligheten er foreløpig beskrevet på engelsk.
Develop the detailed design, costs and operating plan for an organic-waste energy system. The study checks whether the system can be built and operated, verifies local waste supplies and buyers for its energy and other products, and sets out ownership, operations, partnerships and financing. Eligible work includes financial analysis, public consultation, procurement specifications, regulatory approval processes and impact assessments.
The grant normally covers up to 50% of eligible costs, capped at CAD 200,000. Up to 80% may be available for municipalities of 10,000 people or fewer and their partners; regional governments or municipal groups whose member municipalities average 10,000 people or fewer; eligible Indigenous communities; or Northern communities. First-time GMF applicants that are Northern or eligible Indigenous communities may qualify for up to 100%. The North comprises the three territories and Statistics Canada’s designated northern parts of seven provinces, as defined on the official offer page.
An earlier business case—an assessment of options and their economic rationale—is strongly recommended. You can combine it with the detailed study in one project; the CAD 200,000 cap applies to the whole combined project.
Eligibility
Canadian municipalities can apply. Companies, municipal corporations, organizations delivering municipal services, nonprofits, NGOs and research institutes may apply as municipal partners. An Indigenous community can lead through a partnership with a Canadian municipality or a shared-service agreement concerning municipal infrastructure, climate change or adaptation.
The proposed system must use at least one eligible route: purifying landfill gas into fuel or using it directly for energy; anaerobic digestion of local organic waste, where microorganisms break down material without oxygen to produce gas for energy; or recovering energy from composting, wastewater or heat within landfill sites. Local waste can include food and garden waste, biosolids (solid residues from wastewater treatment), and the organic portion of construction/demolition, packaging, agricultural or forestry waste.
The project must both reduce greenhouse-gas emissions overall and improve its net energy result compared with the current situation used as its baseline. Account for energy consumed as well as energy generated or recovered when making that comparison. The study must assess whether developing the system benefits the municipality economically compared with handling the same waste another way.
For a stand-alone feasibility study, state whether you have completed a GMF-funded business case. If not, provide evidence of equivalent earlier work and explain its scope and results. Where applicable, attach an assessment of the environmental impacts of the waste material over its life cycle. The combined business-case-and-study route allows the earlier assessment and detailed design to be undertaken together.
Include consultation feedback and assess which groups benefit or face burdens, ways to reduce barriers or adverse impacts, and relevant local information. Describe sensitive land affected and measures to maintain or improve habitats and biodiversity, or reduce harm. Include a climate-risk assessment and address identified risks when studying new infrastructure valued above CAD 2 million; the assessment is optional at or below that amount. The planned construction must place new infrastructure outside the 100-year floodplain on the latest map—the area exposed to a flood level with a 1% chance of occurring or being exceeded in any year—unless protection can be demonstrated.
How to apply
- Status
- Løpende søknader
- Vilkår for søknadsrunden
- Year-round subject to funding allocation; approval may be deferred to the next fiscal year. A combined business case and study shares one CAD 200,000 cap.
Applications are accepted year-round until funds are allocated; GMF may defer approval to the following fiscal year, beginning 1 April. Discuss the project with GMF at gmfinfo@fcm.ca or 1-877-417-0550, create a profile in the FCM funding portal and submit a pre-application. If invited, submit the full application, project workbook and required documents. Invitation does not guarantee funding; consultants cannot sign or submit on the applicant’s behalf.
Provide municipal support, team chart and résumés, and letters for confirmed funding. A nonmunicipal lead needs a municipal contact and a partnership resolution attached to the pre-application, incorporation documents and support from its chief executive or chief financial officer. Municipal corporations must show their municipal relationship and mandate. Indigenous applicants provide a partnership resolution or the relevant shared-service agreement, according to their route. Funding may be unconfirmed at submission but all sources must be confirmed before the first payment.
Quebec municipalities and municipal corporations must obtain MAMH approval of their pre-application. Use the ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation’s municipal portal; it checks compliance and forwards approved applications to GMF.
Study costs generally qualify only after GMF receives the full application. Up to CAD 5,000 for writing the application within 90 days before submitting it may qualify. Expenses must be reasonable, essential and invoiced to the applicant. Follow the cost table’s expense-statement and external-audit requirements, and retain records for seven years after final payment. Payment documents include the completed study or combined business-case/study, final completion report, workbook with expense claim and confirmed funding sources, and payment request. Progress reports apply for multiple payments or when requested.