A program providing financing for clean energy retrofits will open permanently to Edmontonians on Oct. 17.
Initially funded for four years with $20 million from the province, the Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP) will finance projects like installing solar photovoltaic systems, upgrading insulation, and improving heating and cooling systems in commercial and residential properties.
That is enough for about 300 residential projects and 16 commercial projects, city administration estimates.
Property owners pay the financed amount back through their taxes over a period of up to 20 years.
On Friday during a press conference about the program’s launch, officials and the administrator of other such programs around the province, Alberta Municipalities, touted CEIP as innovative, accessible and important to the city’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
“This program is essential because it allows us to reduce emissions, which do pose an existential threat to our way of life and …