B.C. has been ranked as the countrysa国际传媒檚 most energy efficient region, according to a new national report which scores each provincesa国际传媒檚 efforts to save energy.
Efficiency Canada, a Carleton University-based advocacy organization, launched the countrysa国际传媒檚 first-ever energy efficiency scorecard Wednesday, as a way to track annual progress across the country to meet national climate change commitments.
The scorecard takes five measurements into consideration: each provincesa国际传媒檚 policy progress on energy efficiency programs, enabling policies, buildings, transportation and industry.
sa国际传媒淚magine thinking of all that energy waste from our homes, businesses and industry as a sa国际传媒榬esourcesa国际传媒�, just like natural gas, oil or wind turbines,sa国际传媒� the organizations executive director, Corey Diamond, said in a news release.
sa国际传媒淣ow imagine harvesting that sa国际传媒榬esourcesa国际传媒� in every community across Canada, creating jobs and meeting our climate change commitments. At a time when much of the country is at odds on our energy future, boosting energy efficiency is surely something all Canadians can agree on.sa国际传媒�
B.C. earned 56 points out of 100 for its efforts, including the Energy Step Code program, which gives incentives to developers to create net-zero energy buildings with a goal of making it a requirement within the provincesa国际传媒檚 building code by 2032, explained Brendan Haley, the studysa国际传媒檚 lead author.
Another key policy that earned B.C. high marks was FortisBCsa国际传媒檚 increasing natural gas program savings, which rose from 0.2 to 0.5 per cent of sales this year making it the second highest target in the country.
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But the researchers said the province does have room for improvement, as well.
The report says that despite the CleanBC Plan foreseeing a need for new generation plants to meet the growing need for clean energy to power buildings and transportation, BC Hydro has ramped down program savings in recent years. Instead, sa国际传媒渋ncreasing electricity savings now will help manage a higher peak demand in the future and avoid the need to build expensive and risky hydro generation projects in the future,sa国际传媒� the report reads.
Researchers also suggested that B.C. implement a mandatory building energy rating program in order to inform consumers of the true value of properties based on its energy efficiency sa国际传媒� a commitment referred to in B.C.sa国际传媒檚 Climate Action Plan.
Quebec scored in second place, with 48 points, because of its high number of registered drivers with electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as its number of public charging stations. Quebec is the only province that has an energy savings target related to transportation fuel.
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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