Community energy systems
A combined loan and grant for Canadian municipalities and qualifying partners to construct a renewable energy system serving multiple buildings or systems.
Deze mogelijkheid is momenteel in het Engels beschikbaar.
Finance the construction of a community energy system. Eligible systems include district heating, solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, wind turbines and heat recovery.
The combined loan and grant can cover up to 80% of eligible costs, to a standard maximum of C$10 million. The grant can cover up to 15% of project costs, with an additional 5% available for a project that remediates a brownfield site. It is tied to the loan and cannot be taken separately. Municipalities with exceptional projects may qualify for higher loan and grant amounts.
Eligibility
Canadian municipal governments can apply. Companies, municipal 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 project must build on a completed feasibility study covering technical and financial feasibility and environmental, social and economic impacts. You must also provide records of community support, including local council approval and evidence that an impact assessment has begun where one applies.
The 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 reduce greenhouse-gas 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 in a broader system that also integrates heat recovery and renewable electricity. Northern communities that rely on fossil-fuel electricity are assessed case by case.
New infrastructure must be outside the current 100-year floodplain unless you can show that it will be protected. If new infrastructure assets are valued above C$2 million, complete a recognised climate risk assessment and address the risks it identifies.
How to apply
- Status
- Doorlopend open
- Beperkingen per ronde
- 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 through the portal.
Quebec municipalities and municipal corporations must use the provincial MAMH review route described in the application guide.