Energy Efficiency Projects

Project incentive applications may be for a project, a micro-project, a portfolio, or a self-generation project.

Industrial Accelerator Project Features

Incentives Summary

Industrial Accelerator provides financial incentives to eligible industrial facilities to invest in electricity-efficiency projects. The incentives are designed to improve the payback rate of efficiency projects so that they are competitive with other capital projects. Incentive amounts are based on the predicted energy savings that a project might create.

Financial incentives of up to $10 million for capital projects are based on the lesser of:

• $230 per MWh for annualized electricity savings, or
• 70% of the eligible project costs, or
• Achieving a one-year simple payback

Projects can include capital investments resulting in reduced electricity demand and consumption as well as self-generation projects using approved fuel sources. Detailed engineering studies for viable energy projects are fully funded. Preliminary engineering studies are funded up to $10,000 per project.

Incentives Calculation Example

A fan system retrofit project is estimated to produce 1.07 GWh of annual electricity savings, at a project cost of $330,000. At a cost of electricity at $70 per MWh, the estimated annual energy cost reduction is $74,900, providing the project with a 4.4 year payback.

The Industrial Accelerator incentive amount for this project would be $231,000.

Note that these calculations are for illustrative purposes only. For detailed examples of incentive calculations please see section 2.6 of the Program Rules.

Eligible Costs

Incentive Payments

Participants have the choice of receiving their incentive payments in installments during project construction (progress payments), or after the project is completed and energy savings have been measured and verified (deferred payments).

Progress Payments

Participants who choose to receive their incentive payments up front will provide a letter of credit as security.

Deferred Payments

If participants choose deferred payments, the incentive installments are held back as security until the project is in service and the savings have been verified.

Check Program Rules for details.

Measurement and Verification

For every project, a measurement and verification plan will be created by the Ontario Power Authority. Baseline energy consumption for the project will be determined during the detailed engineering study. Collections of metered and electrical process data will provide the measurements for the baseline. Following installation, project metering will provide the input to the preparation of the measurement and verification reports. The variance between the installed project meter data and the project baseline will be used to verify the electricity savings projected by the detailed engineering study.

Check Program Rules for details.