B.C. Picks up 2 of Ten Energy Star Awards

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 03:57 AM

Prince George, B.C. – Two Provincial entities have come up winners in the Federal Government’s National Energy star program in the 2009 Energy Star Market Transformation Awards.

These awards recognize best practices and innovation in energy efficiency across Canada.

“I congratulate this year’s winners for their creativity, innovation and leadership in helping to strengthen and expand the ENERGY STAR program in Canada,” said Mark Warawa, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment, on behalf of the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources. “These companies are advancing our economy by promoting and developing new energy-efficient technologies, which will improve Canada now and in the future.”

B.C. Hydro has been named “Utility of the year - Provincial” :

Increasing customer awareness, acceptance and adoption of ENERGY STAR-qualified products was a central theme in five major programs delivered by BC Hydro’s Power Smart initiative in 2008, all designed to continue to transform the market toward increased energy efficiency.

The ENERGY STAR Appliance Rebate Program offered residential customers a mail-in rebate worth $25–$100 when they purchased an ENERGY STAR-qualified clothes washer, freezer or refrigerator.
The ENERGY STAR Lighting Program encouraged retail and manufacturing partners to discount the price of ENERGY STAR-qualified lights and fixtures through buy-downs and incentives.
The ENERGY STAR Windows Program engaged manufacturers in promoting sales of ENERGY STAR-qualified windows.
The Holiday LED Lighting Program encouraged consumers to replace incandescent seasonal lights with energy-efficient seasonal LEDs by donating $2 per recycled string to the BC Professional Fire Fighters Burn Fund.
The Power Smart New Home Program offered builders and developers incentives for including ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances and lighting products in their new homes

The B.C. Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources has been named the “Collaborative Initiative of the Year” for having engaged several partners to help make ENERGY STAR the provincial standard for residential heating equipment. For example, the MEMPR:

worked with utilities, including Terasen Gas, Terasen Gas Vancouver Island, BC Hydro, FortisBC and Pacific Northern Gas, to provide incentives for the installation of ENERGY STAR-qualified residential furnaces and boilers
engaged the Thermal Energy Comfort Association and the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute to train tradespeople and promote best practices for retrofitting existing homes with ENERGY STAR-qualified furnaces
joined forces with municipalities, the Building Officials Association of BC, utilities and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) in a program to provide consumers and developers with information on energy efficiency
partnered with BC Housing, FortisBC, NRCan, Terasen Gas and BC Hydro to implement an energy efficiency program for subsidized housing in B.C. that included procurement of ENERGY STAR-qualified boilers and furnaces
collaborated with building developers, NRCan, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, utilities, BC Housing, the Condominium Home Owners Association, Homeworks and delivery agents to expand home energy audits and develop an “EnerGuide Plus” rating system that incorporates information on appliances and lighting
developed a regulation adopting the ENERGY STAR criteria as the provincial minimum energy performance standard for furnaces

Through these initiatives, the market share of ENERGY STAR-qualified furnaces in B.C. increased from 27 percent in 2004 to 64 percent in 2008.

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B.C. Picks up 2 of Ten Energy Star Awards

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