Fund your energy efficiency
Heat recovery, motor replacement, variable speed drives, lighting, vehicle electrification: these projects pay for themselves through savings, and part of the upfront investment is fundable too.
- Process heat recovery
- Replacing motors and drives
- Converting lighting to LED
- Fleet electrification
- Electrifying a gas-fired process
- Upfront energy study
- Compressed air optimization
- Metering and consumption tracking
Programs for energy efficiency
Energy efficiency usually runs through investment programs and equipment credits, complemented by the energy utilities' own measures.
- Provincial · Investissement Québec
ESSOR 1C
ESSOR 1C reimburses half the fees of a study that comes before an investment: technical feasibility, digital diagnostic, productivity plan, site analysis. It is the sub-component used to fund the thinking before the project itself.Continuous intakeUp to $50,000 - Provincial · Revenu Québec
C3i
Continuous intake15% to 25% of the cost of the assets - Federal · Transport Canada
iMHZEV
ClosedProgram closed — up to $200,000 per vehicle IRRT
Planning a project like this?
How funding works for an energy efficiency project
This is what sets these projects apart from every other type: the funding is granted not on an intention but on a demonstrated saving, usually expressed in kilowatt-hours, gigajoules or tonnes of greenhouse gas avoided. That demonstration rests on a baseline measurement taken BEFORE the work. Without it, the saving is an estimate, and estimates do not get funded.
The second thing specific to this field is that government programs interlock with the energy utilities' own measures, which answer to different bodies and different calendars. The two usually stack, but each program applies its own stacking cap expressed as a percentage of total project cost. That is why two companies carrying out exactly the same work do not collect the same amount: the difference comes down to the order of the applications and the quality of the initial metering.
- 01
The upfront energy study
The audit that establishes the baseline is itself fundable — and conditions access to the rest of the file.
- 02
Equipment and works
Heat recovery units, high-efficiency motors, drives, insulation, lighting, control systems and their installation.
- 03
Electrifying processes and fleets
Converting fuel-fired equipment, medium and heavy zero-emission vehicles, chargers and charging infrastructure.
- 04
Metering and monitoring
Meters, sensors and consumption monitoring systems: they justify the funding and serve as evidence in the final report.
Frequently asked questions about energy efficiency
Energy efficiency projects run mainly through investment programs and equipment credits. ESSOR 1C, from Investissement Québec, funds investment projects that improve company performance, including energy performance. The C3I, from Revenu Québec, is a tax credit on manufacturing and processing equipment. Transport Canada's iMHZEV program covers medium and heavy zero-emission vehicles. The RTRI, from Canada Economic Development, can fund productivity projects at affected manufacturers. On top of these sit the energy utilities' own measures, which usually stack with government funding.
In practice, yes — and the study itself is generally fundable. These programs grant funding based on the demonstrated saving, which presupposes a baseline measurement taken before the work. A project filed without that basis for comparison is assessed on an estimate, which translates into a lower amount when it is not an outright refusal. Having the audit done first and then filing is therefore the order that pays the most, not an extra administrative step.
Yes, and on this type of project it is the usual combination. Energy utility measures and government programs answer to different bodies and do not exclude each other. Each program does set a stacking cap expressed as a percentage of total project cost, however, and exceeding it results in reduced funding, sometimes in repayment. Since the calendars differ, filing order here directly determines the total collected.
It depends on how the project is framed. Replacing worn equipment with an equivalent model is asset renewal, and funds poorly. Replacing it with markedly more energy-efficient equipment is an efficiency project, and does fund — provided the consumption gap between old and new is documented. The distinction is not cosmetic: it rests on the baseline measurement, which has to exist before the replaced equipment is taken out of service.
Hubvention first makes sure the baseline measurement exists and is defensible, because on this type of file it is what determines the amount. The firm then sets the sequence between government programs and utility measures, whose calendars and stacking caps differ, and carries the mandate: drafting, filing, defending the file with the agency and follow-through until payment, performance reports included. The initial assessment is free; fees are set case by case in the engagement letter, before work begins.