Solar energy and other energy efficiency included in building permits and grants

Idea:

Increasing incentives to include solar and other energy initiatives in building permits and grants. Similar to the solar array on FHS. Solar panel windows: https://earthtechling.com/solar-windows/#:~:text=Solar%20windows%20are%20exactly%20what%20their%20name%20implies.,to%20making%20this%20solar%20power%20dream%20a%20reality

Staff Feedback:

Thank you for your suggestion! In most jurisdictions across Canada, municipalities are able to provide a program called Property Assessed Clean Energy in which the municipality acts as a loan guarantor for residents wishing to add solar to their homes. The resident pays off the loan over time through increased property tax payments. If the resident sells their home, the payment stays with the new owner on the property tax bill as the beneficiary of the solar panels. However, due to restrictive provincial legislation outlined in the New Brunswick Local Governance Act, municipalities in New Brunswick are the only municipalities in Canada unable to provide PACE or PACE-like programming. It is in the province’s Climate Change Action Plan to change this legislation, but no action has been taken so far. The City supports a change in the legislation to allow for PACE programming and believes a change should be made when the Act is opened during municipal reform.

On a more positive note, a provincial non-profit is working with utilities to apply for funding to study a work-around of this legislation using an alternative loan guarantor. The City remains engaged in discussions about this application and a potential alternative pathway forward that will support our residents in reducing their environmental impact.

And please keep your eyes open for the City's new Community Energy and Emissions Plan, to be discussed by Council in April. The plan will outline our approach to working with local residents and businesses to reduce energy-use and emissions between now and 2030.