1. What are you trying to achieve with this action?

• Increase the deployment of renewable energy installations across diverse sectors and populations.
• Mitigate GHG emissions and climate change impacts.
• Ensure a resilient electrical grid to ensure robustness and adaptability in the face of evolving energy demands.
• Reduce monthly utility bills, especially for those experiencing energy poverty and ensure equitable access to environmental benefits.
• Opportunities for economic development:
• Most energy cost spending leaves the local community, but efficiency and renewable efforts require a local labour force, supporting the ability of the municipality to keep energy dollars local.
• The retrofit market labour force requires a variety of skills/expertise and a significant increase in the number of contractors and renovators. There is also a large variety is skill sets and significant retraining opportunities and internships that require varying scales of education/experience, thereby providing employment opportunities for a variety of demographics.
• Excellent opportunity to advance diversity within the retrofit labour force.
  

2. Who has traditionally participated in/benefited from this action?

• Higher-income households/businesses who can afford high up-front costs of renewable installations.
• Large office buildings may be looking for a designation (such as LEED) rather than picking the best options to reduce their GHG emissions.

3. What groups are most in need of this action?

• LMI households: driving equity in renewable energy deployment is an important consideration during program design.
  • LMI households spend a higher proportion of household income on energy, and renewable energy is capital intensive. Increasing the ability of those who experience energy poverty to generate their own electricity will reduce their vulnerability to energy price increases over time.
  • Protecting LMI groups from increased carbon prices is another rationale for supporting their ability to install renewable energy systems, especially in jurisdictions where electricity costs are higher.

4. What has prevented these groups from participating in the past?

• Up-front capital cost barrier
• Limited time and difficulties in accessing information, exacerbated by potential language barriers, hinder the ability to explore and implement renewable energy initiatives.
• Low customer demand stemming from a lack of awareness of renewable installation benefits.
• Frequent tenant turnover and restrictive lease terms prevent landlords from making long-term investments in renewable energy.
• Obtaining utility approvals and dealing with varying connection costs, especially between local distribution companies (LDCs) and municipalities, create obstacles to renewable energy implementation.
• Tenants face challenges in influencing decisions about a building or unit they do not own, restricting their ability to initiate renewable energy projects.
• The reluctance of oil and gas companies to embrace climate change initiatives may result in miscommunication, mistrust, and misunderstanding regarding the adoption of renewable energy sources. This miscommunication, in turn, has the potential to impede the growth of the renewable industry in the market. Only individuals with higher income, better education, and more available time are likely to overcome these communication barriers and engage in existing renewable programs. Consequently, the slower transformation of the market delays the involvement of low-income communities in these programs.
• Limitation in the distribution system that don't allow connection of renewable systems to the electrical grid.
• Regulatory and policy gaps, ex. lack of virtual net metering regulations.

5. What design can address barriers from those most in need of action and thereby increase participation? Barriers can be physical or perceived (perceptual/psychological, etc.).

• Waive permit fees for residential solar installation
• Commit municipality's savings from solar and energy efficiency to be reinvested in wealth-building initiatives in dis-invested communities.
• Ensure funding for roof hardening/weatherization/insulation is included, especially for older affordable housing.
• Provide accessible education on low-cost ways for residents to go solar and on the energy system in general.
• Conduct an assessment to identify energy use trends, those within the community who are most energy-cost burdened, and prioritize projects for those areas.
• Solar potential scores should not be based on property values or historic investments in the area, but on the potential for solar energy production and benefits to the surrounding community.
• Advocating for tenant empowerment through on-bill financing, allowing tenants to participate in and benefit from energy efficiency measures.
• Implementing mandatory energy efficiency standards, potentially using planning instruments like climate change by-laws, tax increment financing and community improvement plans.
• Seeking provincial/federal support for manufacturers integrating cladding and solar
• Need for funding to enable community outreach/engagement work.

6. Can you identify any negative impacts that this action may cause? Are there measures that act to proactively prevent that harm?

• Real and perceived risks and barriers related to energy efficiency improvements can also apply to renewable energy systems (e.g., performance risks, project and timeline overrun risks, split incentives for rental properties and uncertainty re: length of ownership, what role the renewable system will play in increasing the market value of the property).
• Rent increases due to renewable installation (just like in energy efficiency efforts) are also noted as a potential issue.
• Expressing concerns about tenants having limited influence over decisions related to renewable energy installations, potentially leading to systems that don't align with tenant preferences/needs.
• Raising considerations about possible property tax implications of renewable installations.
• Damaging renewable installations in the face of locally-specific climate risks like wildfires and floods.

7. Who hasn't yet been engaged that would be good to engage? Why would they be good to engage? What may limit their engagement interest/ability?

• Consultation with LMI residents to better understand their barriers
  
• Province of Ontario
• Local utilities and financial institutions
• Architects
• Social contractors - to create equitable job opportunities in the renewable sector
• Technology providers
• Community groups
• Increasing awareness of renewable installation opportunities through outreach and advocacy is a valuable first step for increasing widespread, diverse engagement.

Do you have additional suggestions for climate and equity synergies related to renewable installations? Add them here.