Town one of 14 to receive funds from Ontario climate change grant

May 10, 2018 · 0 Comments

Written By JASEN OBERMEYER

Caledon is one of 14 municipalities in Ontario that was successful in receiving provincial funding from the Ontario Carbon Market.

The Town received $166,084 which will be used for boiler and building control upgrades at the Caledon Centre for Recreation and Wellness (CCRW) which will lower greenhouse gas emissions.

“I am incredibly proud of the work that the Town has undertaken to lower our community greenhouse gas emissions,” said Caledon Mayor Allan Thompson. “We have invested in making climate change mitigation a priority which can be seen through the successful implementation of a Corporate Energy Program and Community Climate Change Action Plan.”

The Province initiated the Municipal Greenhouse Gas Challenge Fund in 2017, with proceeds from the Provincial Cap and Trade program, to support municipalities in lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The grant will be used to install more efficient condensing boilers, in addition to upgrades to the facility’s automated temperature control system. As a result, 114.6 tonnes of greenhouse emissions will be avoided, which is the equivalent to 24.5 passenger vehicles driven for one year.

CCRW has already retrofitted much of its lighting to LED (parking lot, pool, fitness area and youth centre) as part of the Town’s Corporate Energy Program.

“I’d like to commend the Town on their environmental leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which staff continue to make a priority,” said Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones. “The Caledon Centre for Recreation and Wellness is one of the Town’s ‘Big 6’ energy consuming buildings which has undergone significant energy retrofits. This is the type of forward thinking and environmental awareness that all municipalities should be considering.”

The Town implements the municipal Corporate Energy Management Plan through a cross departmental energy team funded through an internal energy revolving fund. This fund finances retrofits through the revenues generated from three ground mounted solar projects and 25 per cent of the cost savings from previous retrofit projects.

The Town’s Community Climate Change Action Plan highlights strategies and steps to reduce community emissions in ten priority areas: Schools, Local Food, Waste, Transportation, Residential Energy, Commercial, Industrial and Institutional Energy, Green Development, Agriculture, Community Awareness, and Tree Planting. Both of these plans will be updated throughout 2018/2019.