Community Energy Planning
How the Oakville community is working together to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
Community Energy Strategy
In 2019, Oakville Town Council unanimously voted to declare a climate emergency recognizing the important role communities play in fulfilling Canada’s Paris Climate Agreement commitment. Now Oakville joins hundreds of communities across Canada, representing approximately 60 per cent of the country’s population, to undergo a community energy planning process.
Oakville's Community Energy Strategy (pdf) directly supports Council’s climate emergency declaration by providing clear and achievable goals to significantly lower community greenhouse gas emissions and improve our overall energy efficiency while strengthening the local economy.
- 2019 Analytical Report (pdf)
- 2019 Engagement Report (pdf)
The Community Energy Strategy (CES) has three goals:
- Increase energy efficiency by 20 per cent by 2041.
- Enable transition to a goal of carbon neutrality by reducing GHG emissions, by at least 50 per cent by 2041.
- Return at least $7 billion in cumulative energy cost savings to the community by 2041.
Council received an update on the Community Energy Strategy at the September 20, 2022, Council meeting, outlining some of the key energy projects being completed by the town.
- Council receives 2022 Community Energy Strategy update - September 21, 2022, news release
- Council receives Community Energy Strategy update - April 30, 2021, news release
The next update to the Community Energy Strategy is planned for 2025. The strategy update is being led by Future Energy Oakville and is expected to be presented to Council by the end of 2025.
What community energy planning means for you
Community energy planning and implementation helps the town, residents and businesses work together to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions while strengthening the local economy and building an affordable and reliable energy future.
The ultimate goal is to help us as a community:
- use energy more efficiently and reduce waste
- reduce energy costs
- reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- create more opportunities to attract businesses and jobs
- increase the security of our energy supply
- enhance our resiliency to climate change
How much do we spend on energy in Oakville?
Per cent of money spent on energy
Home energy retrofits
The Town of Oakville and Oakville Hydro collaborated on a feasibility study to understand the potential for a home energy retrofit program for homeowners to improve their home’s energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. In March 2022, the town conducted a focus group and survey of Oakville homeowners to gather residents' input. In April 2023, a Council workshop was held to outline the study outcomes, provide updates on landscape changes and learnings from other existing programs, and propose a path forward for the town.
Learn more by visiting the Home Energy Retrofits page.
In 2020, the Town of Oakville approved a Community Energy Strategy (CES) that established community-wide targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50 per cent by 2041 and 80 per cent by 2050. The CES identified that residential energy is responsible for about 33 per cent of the town’s total energy use and is the second largest source of the town’s GHG emissions at 27 per cent.
One of the priority projects of the CES is the development of a residential energy retrofit program. Retrofitting existing buildings represents a significant opportunity to reduce energy use and costs, and associated GHG emissions. Buildings (residential and commercial) can often account for over half of a municipality’s GHG emissions. So, in order to achieve GHG reduction targets in a municipality, it is necessary to address energy use within the existing building stock and find innovative approaches to finance retrofits. See the “Feasibility Study” tab below for more information on this project, the work completed in partnership with OEC to-date and next steps.
From March 7 to March 27, 2022 the town invited Oakville residents who own detached, semi-detached, and townhome properties to take a home retrofit survey to share their input and past experiences and goals related to home energy. A two-hour focus group was also held on March 24. Here’s what we heard:
HIGHLIGHTS:
- The top three deterrents to completing energy retrofits were:
- High costs
- Difficulty finding a good contractor
- Lack of knowledge on the subject
- The top four most important features of a potential financing product were identified as:
- Low interest rate
- Ability to pay off anytime
- Length of payback period
- Easy application process
- 91 per cent of respondents indicated a willingness to spend more on a home improvement, if an opportunity to upgrade the improvement meant realizing additional energy savings
- 26 per cent of respondents expressed interest in an LIC-based home energy retrofit program
- 53 per cent of respondents said they may be interested but would need more information
- 64 per cent of respondents expressed interest in a program if the program was designed in a way that eliminated the need to source qualified contractors
Since the study’s completion, there have been significant changes to the landscape including increased availability of programs and insights gained from other municipalities. Town staff and Oakville Enterprises Corporation (OEC) provided these updates along with the proposed path forward to Council at the workshop on April 4, 2023.
- Home Energy Retrofit Feasibility Study (pdf)
- Appendix A - Project Scope Summary (pdf)
- Appendix B - Residential Energy and Emissions Baseline (pdf)
- Appendix C - Project Working Team (pdf)
- Appendix D - Stakeholder Engagement Summary (pdf)
- Appendix E - Summary of Feasibility Study Assumptions (pdf)
- Appendix F - Full Feasibility Study Reference Case (pdf)
- Appendix G - Stress Test (pdf)
- Appendix H - Municipal Risk Assessment (pdf)
- Appendix I - Homeowner Survey Report (pdf)
- Appendix J - Homeowner Focus Group (pdf)
- Appendix K - Recommended Business Plan Structure (pdf)
- Special Council Meeting - Home Energy Retrofit Program - April 4, 2023 (video starts at 33:20)