1. Project Overview

1.1 Project Purpose

The purpose of this project was to investigate the feasibility (the “Business Case”) of establishing an entity to deliver high quality, standardized residential energy efficiency retrofit packages to most Windsor homes.

The purpose of developing a Business Case is to answer the question:

Under a credible set of assumptions, can a case be made for the City of Windsor Community Energy Plan (CEP) home energy retrofit strategy that meets reasonable community, market and economic goals?

If the answer to this question is yes, then the next step for the City would be to identify/establish a Program Administrator and provide them with reasonable resources to conduct additional marketing testing and program risk assessment to develop a final Business Plan.

1.2 Strategic Alignment with Council Priorities

The project aligns with Council’s 20-Year Strategic vision for:

  1. More Jobs in Windsor

  2. Addressing Windsor’s reputation

  3. Improving Quality of Life in Windsor

Community Energy Plan

The R-DEER Program is consistent with the Vision of the Community Energy Plan as approved by Council in July of 2017.

The Community Energy Plan aims to create economic advantage, mitigate climate change and improve energy performance. It aims to position Windsor as an energy centre of excellence that boasts efficient, innovative, and reliable energy systems that contribute to the quality of life of residents and businesses.

The R-DEER Program’s will drive transformative reductions in energy end-use and GHG emissions, as described in detail in this report, and will stimulate local job creation by keeping millions of energy dollars local. The financial calculation in the Business Case has been based on financial returns consistent with the CEP. All of these contribute directly to the overall targets of the Community Energy Plan.

The R-DEER Program is a direct response to CEP’s Strategy #1: Create a Deep Energy Retrofit Program for Existing Homes. The design of the R-DEER Program, described in this report, is based on the recommended approach to this strategy.