First Investment from Low Carbon Economy Challenge Announced

Published on January 14, 2019

Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, recently announced that the Government of Canada is investing $10 million in Enwave Energy Corporation through the Champions Stream of the Low Carbon Economy Challenge - marking it as the first time funding has been provided to any company through the challenge’s Champions Stream.

The purpose of the Low Carbon Economy Challenge is to help stimulate Canadian innovation and business ingenuity, with the goal of promoting a sustainable clean energy economy.

Enwave’s $10 million investment is earmarked towards helping the company expand its deep lake water cooling system in Toronto, which was completed in 2004.

The deep lake water cooling system that Enwave already has in operation works to cool many buildings in Toronto’s financial district by drawing water from Lake Ontario, and provides an energy efficient method of air conditioning a building.

With this investment, Enwave’s system will be able to reduce the energy consumption of many downtown Toronto buildings by up to 80 percent, in regards to how much energy they need for air conditioning.

Carlyle Coutinho, President and CEO of Enwave Canada, has said that Enwave is committed to improving Toronto’s resilience through innovations in sustainable heating and cooling over the next twenty years.

“This funding is an investment in Toronto’s future,” said Coutinho.

The final funding decisions for the Champions Stream of the Low Carbon Economy Challenge are expected to complete during the winter of this year, with the Partnership Stream’s final funding decisions expected to be announced in the spring.

Over $500 million of funding will be provided to chosen companies between both the Champions Stream and the Partnership Stream.

Living A Low Carbon Life at Home

By improving the energy efficiency of buildings and businesses through the Low Carbon Economy Challenge, Canada looks to lower its greenhouse emissions while creating jobs and contributing towards a green energy economy. As a homeowner, you might be surprised at how affordable it is to start improving your own home’s energy efficiency, and to save on utility bills in process.

By scheduling a time for a Registered Energy Advisor to come into your home and conduct a Home Energy Assessment, you can not only be made aware of how energy efficient your home is, but you will also be provided with a list of energy saving suggestions for you to consider - ranked in order of their cost effectiveness.

Quite often these suggestions will include simple and affordable modifications or retrofits, such as sealing any air leaks with caulk, or improving the level of insulation in the attic. By following the suggestions and making energy efficiency improvements, you may notice that your home becomes: more comfortable to live in, has better air quality, has lower utility bills, and even a higher market rate.

To make it even easier to see a return on your investments that improve your home’s energy efficiency, a Home Energy Assessment can help your home qualify for up to $5,000 of home renovation rebates that both Union Gas and Enbridge are offering their customers.