Clean Energy Improvement Program

The City of St. Albert’s Clean Energy Improvement Program is open for pre-qualifications. Learn more on the program webpage.

The Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP) is a financing program designed to make residential energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades more accessible. The program is administered by the Alberta Municipalities in partnership with the City of St. Albert. Alberta Municipalities has over ten years of experience administering energy efficiency and renewable energy programs to municipalities across Alberta.

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Program Background

What makes the Clean Energy Improvement Program different?

CEIP uses an innovative financing solution known as Property Assessed Clean Energy (“PACE”), which allows property owners to access flexible, long-term financing through their municipality. Repayment is facilitated through an added Clean Energy Improvement charge to the participant’s regular property tax bill. This charge is linked to the property where the upgrades are installed and not the property owner.

The City of St. Albert expects the program to reduce GHG emissions in the community, deliver energy bill savings to program participants, and contribute to job creation and local economic growth.

How is the City involved?

To establish CEIP, the City of St. Albert passed the Clean Energy Improvement Tax Bylaw 26/2021 on May 17, 2021. The City's grant application to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Community Financing initiative was submitted at the beginning of September 2021.

On October 3, 2022, the Federal Government and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities announced the City of St. Albert's application was approved to receive a $5,017,400 loan and grant funding. These funds will help provide funding and support the implementation of the residential CEIP program launching on November 22, 2022.

To help prepare yourself in applying for St. Albert's CEIP Program, please review program details, including the St. Albert CEIP Terms and Conditions on the Alberta Municipalities City of St. Albert program webpage.

Eligible residential upgrade categories include the following:

Renewable energy, solar PV and thermal
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
Doors, windows, insulation and air sealing
Lighting fixtures
Water heating

Process

The Clean Energy Improvement Program is first come, first serve. Approximately 60 residential upgrade projects are budgeted for each year. The process of the program follows these five basic steps:

1. Pre-qualifications: Property owners complete the Pre-qualification form and submit their credentials to ensure the property meets the program eligibility criteria set by St. Albert’s CEIP Terms and Conditions.

2. Home Evaluation and Project Application: After the Pre-qualification form is approved, property owners must complete an EnerGuide Home Evaluation, select a qualified contractor, and submit the Project Application Form provided by Alberta Municipalities.

Before moving forward with your project, make sure your contractor is truly qualified under the Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP). Verify their eligibility by checking our list of over 400 CEIP-approved contractors, ensuring they're approved and fully qualified to carry out your CEIP projects.

3. CEIP Agreements: Once the Project Application is approved, Alberta Municipalities confirms the approved financing amount and provides the Clean Energy Improvement Agreement and the Project Agreement for the property owner to review and sign.

4. Project Installation: After agreements are signed, Alberta Municipalities will send an Installation Authorization Notice, notifying property owners that upgrades can begin. All Project Agreement upgrades must be completed within six months of receiving the Installation Authorizations Notice.

5. Completion and Repayment: After an upgrade is complete, the property owner will submit an Upgrade Completion Form. Once the form is processed, Alberta Municipalities will pay your Qualified Contractor directly, and the approved project cost will be added to your property’s tax account. After all, upgrades are completed, a post-project Energuide Home Evaluation must be completed and submitted to Alberta Municipalities.

Incentives

The City of St. Albert is offering $1,400 in incentives for completed projects, that can be stacked with other incentives provided through the Home Energy Efficiency Grant Program and the Government of Canada Greener Homes Grant Program. Only incentives offered through CEIP will be automatically applied to the Clean Energy Improvement Tax, to reduce the total financing amount (not issued to the property owner directly).

Incentive availability is limited and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis to participants who complete a CEIP project.

This project was carried out with assistance from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fun, an endowment created by the Government of Canada.