Neighbourhood Summit IDEAS Paper

7/31/2019 Neighbourhood Summit IDEAS Paper

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TITLE

Transitioning neighbourhoods to carbon nne ne g our oo a a me.

June 2012Neighbourhood Summit I


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PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS

PROJECT SPONSORS

SUMMIT SPONSORS

NEIGHBOURHOOD PARTNER LUNCH AND SNACKS VENUE


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Project NeutralTransitioning neighbourhoods to carbon neutrality

One neighbourhood at a time

NEIGHBOURHOOD SUMMIT IDEAS PAPER ~ JUNE 2012 1

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NEIGHBOURHOOD SUMMIT Over 80 residents, neighbourhood leaders and experts

in urban sustainability participated in the event onJune 9th sponsored byEvergreen Brick Works.

Welcome remarks were made byKaren Nasmith, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Project Neutral,neighbourhood leaders Sandra Lester and PaulMero, and Elizabeth Gresh of Evergreen Brick

Works.

Visionary urban designer, architect and author KenGreenberg delivered the keynote presentation MoreUrban and More Green: Cities Hold the Key. Kensinspirational talk reviewed the potential of urbansustainability and what can be done to unlock thispotential in our urban environments.

Throughout the day, expert panels addressed threeopportunities for reducing emissions at theneighbourhood scale: municipally financed energy

retrofits (Sonja Persram, Sustainable Alternatives

Inc.), retrofitting urban neighbourhoods for districtenergy (Greg Allen, Sustainable Edge and JoyceMclean, Toronto Hydro) and NeighbourhoodOffsetting: Using carbon offsets to fund local projects(Robert Elms, Green Power Action and Travis

Allan, Zizzo Allan Climate Law).

30-minute breakout sessions followed each of the panelpresentations. Participants discussed their overall

interest in the ideas, and identified concerns,opportunities, and next steps. Project Neutral hassummarized key findings in the following paper andkey action items are already underway!

Councillor Paula Fletcher, Ward 30, andCouncillor Sarah Doucette, Ward 13, Co-Chairedthe Neighbourhood Summit. Both Co-Chairs expressedtheir continued support for Project Neutral andcommented on the sense of optimism and inspirationthey sensed in the room.

EMBRACING CHANGE IS HARD.CREATING CHANGE IS EVEN HARDER.Project Neutral would like to THANKall those who contributed to making the Neighbourhood Summit a huge success, including theSummit Organizing Committee, our Neighbourhood Partners, Volunteers and Sponsors.


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WHATWE HEARDMunicipally Financed Energy Retrofits: Property Assessed Payments for Energy Retrofits (PAPER)Speaker: Sonja Persram, President & CEO, Sustainable Alternatives Consulting Inc.

THE IDEA:In a PAPER program homeowners would obtain upfront financing from their municipalities using an existing method called LocalImprovement Charges (LICs), for renovations to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. The financing would be associated

with the property (not the owner) and repaid as a temporary fee on the property tax bills of only those homeowners who opt in to theprogram. When the homeowner sells the house, any remaining amount owing on the PAPER financing would continue to be repaid

by the new owner, who would also benefit from the improvements.

Overall Interest A great program with huge potential at the

neighbourhood-level. When participants wereasked to raise their hands to show interest inparticipating in a pilot PAPER program, almostall hands were raised.

Opportunities Bulk purchasing could realize economies of scale and

drive down costs Mature neighbourhoods (e.g. Riverdale and theJunction) are ideal for this program due to the number

of houses that need retrofitting Financing for PAPER could be rolled into assessments

for mortgage refinancing Good sell politically. PAPER can be positioned as a job-

creator. Important to highlight the reduced number ofmortgage defaults among U.S. participants (that hadPAPER financing).

Emphasize / leverage opportunities for collectiveorganization through Project Neutral, such as growinggrassroots support, gaining attention of Council andmunicipal staff, and coordinating information sharing

between homeowners.

Challenges Clear communications and engagement strategy is

critical to achieve widespread support and buy-in Reliability of energy savings estimates (sufficient

enough to cover financing costs?) An audit that prioritizes retrofit options would be

valuable. An assessment of options and correspondingbenefits would help homeowners to make informeddecisions and simplify decision-making.

Although amortization of costs reduce barriers, somehomeowners may still need further incentives forparticipating in the program


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Staging improvements is important to accommodatehousehold needs one time access to funds was oneproblem with ecoENERGY

Follow up audits would be valuable to determineeffectiveness of renovations. A report showing energysavings could be used to educate homeowners andencourage participation in the program.

Would participation in the program lead toreassessments of home value and increases to propertytax above the payback for renovations? This wouldinfluence the sales pitch to homeowners.

Would there be a cap on household f inancing? For eachoption there could be an amount of available financing,above which the owner would pay out of pocket.

What is the financial risk and who is liable for costs?Would insurance be included? If so, would there be agroup insurance plan?

Availability of contractors to perform the upgrades Mandatory vs optional list of certified/pre-approved

contractors. Potential for liability issues if problemsarise with pre-approved contractors. Might be better tofocus on products (e.g. consider developing arecommend list homestars.ca)

Need to develop plans for households when ownershipchanges hands

Next Steps Explore potential for Riverdale and the Junction to be

involved in a pilot program

Encourage / assist PAPER champions at City Hall toadvocate for a feasibility study

Make deputation to Council and follow-up atCommittee meetings. Collaborate with partners withrelevant experience and expertise. (e.g. Toronto

Atmospheric Fund) Undertake feasibility study to further explore pilot

details (financing cap per household, effect on propertytaxes, GHG targets, program coordination andadministrative costs and logistics)

Demonstrate the value of the PAPER program byinitiating a pilot project.

Undertake a letter writing campaign to targetedmunicipal and provincial figures

Administer a community survey, raise awareness anddevelop buy-in through workshops and events

Make a preparedness list for homeowners interestedin the program

Leverage web based knowledge and social networking

IthoughttheSummitwasexcellentwell

organized,greatspaceandspeakers,greatfood.Everyonewasengagedandexcited.Ifeelvery

fortunatetohavebeenabletoattend.

- PamelaMountain,Junctionresident


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Retrofitting Urban Neighbourhoods for District EnergySpeakers: Greg Allen, Senior Associate, Sustainable Edge

Joyce Mclean, Director, Strategic Issues, Toronto Hydro, District Energy

Summary of IdeaDistrict energy (DE), refers to a network of buried pipes that carry thermal energy in the form of steam or hot or cold water toconnected buildings and homes from a central energy source. DE is used primarily to heat and sometimes to cool buildings in place ofconventional heating/cooling systems (e.g., furnaces, air conditioning units, boilers, chillers). By incorporating combined heat andpower (CHP), DE can also generate electricity to share with connected buildings or send to the grid. It is also sometimes calledneighbourhood or community energy. By allowing connected buildings to share energy and incorporate renewable fuels, districtenergy systems can help communities move away from fossil fuel dependence and towards zero GHG emission operations.

Overall interest Participants expressed general support for a

neighbourhood-level district energy initiative, howevermore information was requested about a range ofissues, including costs, benefits, technical feasibility,identifying potential proponents, etc. Collaborativeapproach with utilities, government, residents andneighbourhood organisations is essential.

Opportunities Cost-sharing an advantage in neighbourhoods A staged project would create more time for people to

buy into a system Local energy production fits well with the local

movement (e.g. 100 mile diet) There might be an opportunity to develop partnerships

with local industrial or commercial practices that havewaste heat, etc.

The reduction of GHG emissions could be used to selloffsets and sustain the system financially

Look at potential for royalty system or using localimprovement charges to fund DE

Explore potential for residents to add rough-inconnection when renovating; in 30-40 years entireneighbourhood could be ready to connect to DEsystem.

Laneway geothermal could use back-to-backconnections, cause less disruption

A community solar array in Withrow Park could beused as a shading device

Look at Corix experience with residential projects.Challenges

Cost-benefit is still unclear. Is it technically andfinancially feasible? What are the regulatory barriers?

Need to develop a good financing model Difficulty of retrofitting old neighbourhoods


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Is it easily replicable in other neighbourhoods? Reducing energy demand should precede renewable

energy systems. Only effective if houses are alreadyenergy efficient.

A Toronto Atmospheric Fund study of lanewaygeothermal found several barriers, including systemmanagement and compatibility of home heatingsystems

It would take many years to complete a pilot project There would need to be a critical mass of highly

committed participants Limited options for generation on-site (in the

neighbourhoods). Where would a DE be located? There is a huge learning curve related to DE. A pilot

would require a well thought out engagement andawareness strategy.

Concern about red tape resulting in significant delays.Next steps

Project Neutral to be an advocate for DE inneighbourhoods; research successful case studies

Engage with the right champions and decision-makers(e.g. Toronto Hydro, TAF), follow up with Office ofEnergy Efficiency, City of Toronto

Explore potential for co-operatives to finance andmanage a project

Explore potential for generating provincial royaltiesfrom geothermal energy

Consider a university partnership With TAF, explore the potential of using city laneways

for geothermal Set realistic expectations for implementation Project Neutral to add a question to the Household

Carbon Footprint Survey about type of heating andcooling system used by households

CongratulationsonafantasticeventonSaturday.

Therewasdefinitelyalotofenergyintheroom

andeveryoneIspoketoissoexcitedaboutthe

potentialfortheirneighbourhoods

- TiffanyVong,EmergingLeadersNetwork


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Neighbourhood Carbon Co-ops: Using offsets to fund local projectsSpeakers: Robert Elms, Green Power Action

Travis Allan, Partner, Zizzo Allan Climate Law

Summary of IdeaNeighbourhood Offsetting allows individuals and organizations to purchase credits from neighbourhood scale projects in order toreduce their own impact and transition to carbon neutrality. Offsetting projects could include tree planting, small scale renewableenergy, improved forest management, low till agriculture, cogeneration (electricity and heat generation), or energy efficiencyupgrades and can be used to offset an individuals entire carbon footprint or to just focus on a specific activity (e.g. air travel).

Overall interest General support for investment in a neighbourhood

project; many questions about offsetting and somereservations expressed

Opportunities Local offset projects help to ensure money ends up

back in the neighbourhoods Opportunity to link up with other neighbourhoods and

replicate elsewhere There is already a demonstrated interest in offsetting

(e.g. Bullfrog) The idea can be bundled with PAPER and district

energy, resulting in energy efficiency and reduced GHGemissions and the potential to sell offsets

Neighbourhoods could purchase offsets as a collectiveand benefit from group purchasing power

Tree planting could offset emissions from air travel

Concerns Imperative that offsets are connected with initiatives

that have proven ghg reductions; not a solution alone Challenging to develop a project that would reduce

enough emissions to undertake a viable project. (e.g 20tonnes saved at $6 a tonne is $120.1)

If Project Neutral sells credits, neighbourhoods cannotclaim to be carbon neutral.

Who would purchase offsets? Local residents andbusinesses may not generate enough money to fund aproject

Who would certify the offsets? What are theadministrative costs?

Next steps Research case studies, perform market research,

explore operating model as part of a feasibility study Develop an inventory of potential projects

1Itwasnotedthatpricevariesdependingondemand;marketingthe

creditsasaneighbourhoodprojectcouldaddsignificantvalue.


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What Happens Next?Exploring Opportunities & PartnershipsProject Neutral will continue to explore the opportunities discussed at the Neighbourhood Summit (PAPER, district energy andneighbourhood carbon offsetting). This will include follow-up with experts and meeting with local leaders and champions, includingCity Councillors. Working Groups comprised of various stakeholders will be established for each idea.

Interested in getting involved? To join a Working Group or receive our monthly newsletter, [email protected]. ForWorking Groups, please identify the idea that you are interested in (PAPER, district energy or neighbourhood carbon offsetting).

Neighbourhood Meetings & Fall Survey

Over the summer, Project Neutral will be revising the Household Carbon Footprint Survey (www.projectneutral.org/survey). It is ourgoal to make Survey 2.0 more convenient and user-friendly, in order to encourage a greater number of households to participate inestablishing a neighbourhood baseline. In the fall, public meetings we be held in both neighbourhoods to:

Present the findings of the Neighbourhood Summit and report on follow up actions, and provide opportunities for furtherengagement regarding ideas that reduce emissions at the neighbourhood scale;

Present Household Retrofit Studies undertaken by University of Toronto Building Science students for common buildingtypologies in Riverdale and the Junction (some of this work was on display at the Summit. For those who missed it, we willsoon post the Studies on our website stay tuned); and,

Launch the second annual Household Carbon Footprint Survey.Neighbourhood Resource ManualWe are delighted to announce that Project Neutral will be developing a Neighbourhood Resource Manual. The Manual will be acollection of best practices collected from The Junction and Riverdale over the last year and will provide neighbourhood groups witha blueprint including resources, tools, tips, and examples to get started on their own Project Neutral initiative.

To see pictures and videos from the Neighbourhood Summit:Pictures from the Neighbourhood Summit, as well as the agenda, background papers have been posted to ourwebsite and facebookpage. Videos and presentations will be posted shortly.

Documents

Neighbourhood Summit IDEAS Paper