Ont. to have green regime: Energy minister.

By Lee Greenberg, Canwest News ServiceFebruary 23, 2009 9:01 PM

Photograph by: Peter Redman, National Post

TORONTO — The province is prepared to impose a green regime that will direct how homeowners sell their property, set prices on alternative energy and cut municipalities out of deciding where wind and solar energy projects can be located.

The sweeping legislative package known as the Green Energy Act will amend 15 statutes and the government says it will create 50,000 new jobs.

For homeowners already facing one of the worst markets in decades, the new law will mean that they will be forced to pay for an energy audit before putting their house on the market.

Energy Minister George Smitherman said he wants a home's energy efficiency to play as much of a factor in a sale as fuel efficiency does in a car purchase.

"If you go to a car showroom today, what's the big sticker on the window? It's the (sticker) that tells you about the energy use of the vehicle," he told reporters Monday. "And the very same principle will apply in this case."

It is unclear when the first mandatory home energy audits will occur. Smitherman said he wants to ensure there are enough auditors working before the plan goes ahead. The audits cost about $300 and are required for a rebate program for energy retrofits offered by the provincial and federal governments.

The act is designed to encourage massive investment in renewable energy production and conservation.

Those measures include streamlining lengthy approval processes and offering a generous, fixed price (which has yet to be set) for all wind, solar, hydro, biomass, biogas and landfill gas projects. Smitherman said that provision, known as a feed-in-tariff, would put Ontario on the level of "global green power leaders like Denmark, Germany and Spain."

New large energy projects will also be required to contain a certain, as yet undetermined, percentage of local content.

For smaller producers, including homeowners, the government will offer zero or low-interest loans to build a small-scale renewable project — like rooftop solar panels or micro wind turbines.

The government will also amend building codes for new construction, mandate more efficient appliances and set the stage for electric cars.

Note:

In Victoria, the Real Estate Board is in discussion with the Municipality of Oak Bay to be the first pilot project for mandatory energy audits for home sales in Greater Victoria.