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Energy benchmarking in spotlight at CaGBC event

5 years ago

Ontario was the first Canadian jurisdiction to introduce energy benchmarking regulations, and it’s also the largest in North America with this framework. Some of the successes, challenges and new benchmarking tools were discussed at the CaGBC Greater Toronto Chapter Feb. 6.

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“We find ourselves in uncharted waters.” That was part of our assessment 10 years ago, in 2009, when we published our second annual State of Green Business report. Suffice to say, it’s déjà vu all over again. So many concerns of 2009 are concerns again today, albeit with a heightened sense of urgency.

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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced the Green New Deal, a clean energy and jobs agenda, included in the 2019 Executive Budget. The plan tackles a transition to clean energy, one that expands the green economy, and is expected to prioritize the needs of low- to moderate-income New Yorkers.

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A new report from the Urban Land Institute (ULI), a global multidisciplinary real estate organization, and Heitman LLC (Heitman), a global real estate investment management firm, points to the pressing need for greater understanding throughout the industry of the investment risks posed by the impacts of climate change.

Energy Profiles

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Markham has teamed up with Bell Canada and IBM for a pilot project that will use smart city technology to monitor municipal buildings as well as detect problems such as flooding caused by storms.

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The City of Mississauga has been recognized with multiple energy awards for the energy conservation and innovative efforts taken in 2018. These were provincial awards for programs implemented by the city’s energy management team.

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One of the most prestigious awards for green building, sustainability, and energy efficiency in the new home industry is EnerQuality’s annual EQ Awards.  Categories include Building Innovation, Ontario Green Builder and the EnerQuality’s ENERGY STAR for New Homes Builder of the Year for Small, Mid, and Large Volume.

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Colorado will soon become home to one of the first cold-weather net-zero energy home developments in the U.S. The first 750 lots for sale by developer David Resnick at North Vista Highlands a 1,140-acre project will go explicitly to builders committed to zero energy construction.

BOMA BEST

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After more than three decades of talk about the potential of building green, we’ve still failed to change the way we design and construct buildings so that the built environment stops being a dominant contributor to runaway climate change.

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The Alberta government is putting $70 million toward almost a dozen private-sector industry projects aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The funding through the province’s Climate Leadership Plan will leverage more than $200 million in private investment in 11 Alberta projects worth a combined project value of $276 million.

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Canada’s fledgling cleantech industry is getting another financial boost after Montreal-based Ecofuel closed its inaugural venture-capital fund, raising $40.6-million from Quebec funders including the government of Quebec, Desjardins and the venture arms of labour funds Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Fondaction.

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A proposed Surrey coal shipping project that has drawn sharp criticism from environmentalists and some local governments has had its permit cancelled by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, effectively killing the project for now.

Himalayas Thawing of the ‘third pole’ could affect 1.9 billion
At least a third of the ice in the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush will thaw in this century as temperatures rise, disrupting river flows vital for growing crops from China to India, scientists said on Monday.

CBC, February 7, 2019

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As Ottawa limps across the finish line of its snowiest January on record, cherry blossoms are blooming at the legislature in Victoria. Millions of Canadians were hiding out this week under extreme cold warnings stretching across the map, even as some East Coast cities enjoyed moderate temperatures.

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If the last few years are any indication, wildfire smoke is becoming a fact of life in B.C. — and with that comes the inevitable questions about how it’s affecting our health. As it turns out, the experts still have nearly as many questions as average British Columbians.

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The number of billion-dollar weather disasters in the United States has more than doubled in recent years, as devastating hurricanes and ferocious wildfires that experts suspect are fuelled in part by climate change have ravaged swaths of the country, according to data released by the federal government Wednesday.

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Many people dream of building their small business into an international power base, but two Canadian companies in Africa are taking different approaches to spreading the power. Jaza Energy and M-Kopa, both started by Canadians, are bringing small-scale solar energy to communities in Tanzania and, in M-Kopa’s case, to Kenya and Uganda as well.

BOMA BEST - Building on Zero

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A wave of investment is flowing into building out electric vehicle charging networks, with some of it coming from oil companies.  Electric vehicle software company Greenlots is being acquired by Shell New Energies, which focuses on new transportation fuels including electricity, biofuels, and hydrogen.

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Allied Market Research report “Wind Turbine Market offers a detailed analysis of changing market dynamics, key investment pockets, major segments, and market competition.  The global wind turbine market generated $88.78 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $134.60 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2017 to 2023.

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Greencoat UK Wind and an unnamed U.K. pension fund have agreed to buy a 49.9% stake in two Scottish wind farms owned by energy firm SSE for $1.1 billion Cdn

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