third party capital up to $2M

This FCM CEF Program represents an excellent opportunity for the City to leverage funds to complete the study and progress towards a recommendation for a building retrofit program. It is recommended that the City proceed with an application for funding for resources to complete a detailed business plan/program design study. This would fall under the “Studies” funding category of the FCM CEF Program. The deadline for the first round of Studies grants is October 31, 2020.

In order for an applicant to apply for loans, loan guarantees and grants under the “Program Capitalization” and “Credit Enhancement” funding categories of the FCM C EF Program, a program design study is a prerequisite. However, completing the program design study does not require the city to proceed with any particular plan.

Several other Ontario municipalities are also developing building retrofit programs and administration will coordinate and engage with them on an ongoing basis.

Next Steps

Administration is recommending to proceed with the completion of a program design study and Business Plan development based on the findings of the DEER business case (feasibility study). The program design study and business plan will encompass the same document and are referred to interchangeably throughout this report.

To support this action, administration would apply for funding under the FCM CEF Program to complete the program design study. Program design studies funded by the FCM CEF Program will generally build upon market intelligence and research, including feasibility studies, by advancing a program design that meets local community needs and municipal priorities. They lay the foundation for a financing program for home energy upgrades by documenting the details needed to obtain approval by a municipal government. Program design studies address the following design considerations: