8 September 2022

New partnership provides funding support to Alberta businesses for energy retrofits

Alberta Ecotrust Foundation and SOFIAC join forces to provide a unique investment model for Alberta businesses in their energy transition.

Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, a prominent environmental charity leading and supporting urban climate action in Calgary and Edmonton through its Climate Innovation Fund, is excited to announce a partnership with SOFIAC, a national capital service provider ready to offer its turnkey investment solution for energy efficiency retrofits to building owners in both cities.

Given that both Calgary and Edmonton recently approved ambitious action plans, the announcement is timely. “With buildings contributing 18 percent of Canada’s GHG emissions, supporting energy efficiency retrofits will help us achieve our climate targets while also creating high-quality jobs.”

“That is why it is very promising to see Alberta Ecotrust Foundation and SOFIAC partner to provide turnkey investment solutions for energy efficiency retrofits. This solution will empower residents and building owners in Edmonton and Calgary to identify and capitalize on opportunities to lower emissions, save on energy bills, and support more resilient, sustainable communities.” – The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources

Alberta Ecotrust Program Director Mike Mellross confirms, “Large-scale building retrofit projects are complex, and the ‘ready-to-go’ solution provided by SOFIAC is really beneficial to building owners. It removes a lot of the barriers that might stop businesses from taking on these types of projects themselves.”

“It’s a great fit for us, building on the success of our pilot program, Accelerating Retrofits in Commercial Buildings that used artificial intelligence to provide over 50 commercial building owners in Calgary and Edmonton with a digital energy audit,” he adds.

The audit generates a low carbon roadmap that the building owner can follow to achieve deep emission reductions over the next several years. The project partners both hope this opportunity will kick-start retrofit projects across Alberta and accelerate action from businesses committed to reducing their emissions. Pursuing energy efficiency upgrades will do just that – and lower operating costs, improve building performance, and increase market competitiveness.

Alberta Ecotrust’s partnership with SOFIAC provides a mechanism for these and other Alberta building owners to take that important next step of actually carrying out the retrofits.

Throughout the province, owners of buildings with overall annual energy expenditures of their portfolio totaling over $500,000 will now be able to realize their large-scale energy efficiency projects thanks to SOFIAC’s turnkey investment solution.

“We are excited to work with the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, bringing together federal and private sector money to deliver energy efficiency that targets decarbonization for local commercial and industrial projects. We are working closely to duplicate this pioneering model across the remaining LC3 network so that together we can benefit clients across Canada”, says Stuart Galloway, Executive Vice-President – Ontario and Western Canada at SOFIAC

Already the most significant energy efficiency initiative in Canada, SOFIAC helps the owners of commercial, industrial, and multi-residential buildings modernize their buildings, decrease their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and, as a result, significantly reduce their energy expenditures and improve their profitability. As the implementation mechanism does not require the beneficiary to make any initial investment, it has the net benefit of freeing up significant and immediate liquid assets for building owners. It will also enable access to available subsidy programs and other tax benefits related to asset improvement.