Commercial Sector - Resource Library

 

Energy Efficiency: Beat the bust by going green.

Spend money on energy efficiency during a recession? It’s a much brighter idea than you think

By Jim Harris

Link: PROFIT magazine

The "Energy Efficiency: Beat the bust by going green" was featured in the May issue of the PROFIT magazine. Published under the permission of PROFIT magazine.

 

 

 

OPA symposium on small scale renewable energy attracts more than 90 participants in Waterloo

The conservation division, innovation and evaluation engineering support group hosted a technology symposium on small scale renewable energy on June 18 at the Waterloo Inn and Conference Centre in Waterloo.

Attended by more than 90 participants representing local distribution companies (LDCs), product exhibitors and OPA conservation program staff, the event built on the success of the three previous technology symposiums.

The exhibitors represented 13 industry organizations, featuring a variety of products ranging from microinverters to mounting hardware.

In addition to great networking opportunities, the event featured a keynote address from Tom Rand of the MaRS Institute on “Kicking the Fossil Fuel Habit.”

 

Other topics presented at the symposium included:

  • Using RETScreen for renewable energy screening.
  • Financial considerations of small and community wind developments.
  • Solar power in the urban environment.
  • The economics of solar power.

 

Included below are links to the speaker presentation handouts and the program agenda from the event.

 

Click here for the Energy Efficiency Technology Symposium archive

 

 

Information supplement on conservation in Globe & Mail

The OPA inserted a special four-page supplement to the newspaper on energy conservation aimed at a business audience.

The supplement documents some recently completed energy conservation projects and talks about the benefits of various OPA programs. Some of the featured articles include: 

  • a story on the program by Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Toronto to retrofit properties larger than 25,000 square feet to cut their electricity use 
  • an article on the University of Windsor’s energy-reduction efforts 
  • an item on how Air Liquide Canada, which produces industrial and medical gases at plants in Hamilton, installed a new compressor and reduced their energy consumption 
  • an interview with Paul Shervill, vice-president of conservation and sector development, about why businesses should put energy costs on their radar
  • a story about how Kingston’s Hotel Dieu Hospital will have more money available for patient care because it reduced the amount being paid for electricity through a retrofit 
  • an article on the OPA’s suite of demand response programs.

The supplement also features advertisements the OPA has developed for its conservation programs for business.

Link: OPA-Energy-Conservation-GM-ROB-080810.pdf