Developers of new technologies and renewable-energy sources are lauding the federal government's $2 billion funding for environmental programs, saying it will boost investment in green technologies and early-stage startup companies.
But environmentalists say the Tory program falls short of what the former Liberal government proposed, and some observers have attributed the announcement largely to Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion's strategy to emphasize the environment in the next election.
The ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative includes a $1.5 billion investment in renewable energy supplies; $300 million for energy-efficiency systems in homes, small buildings and industries; and $230 million for projects that research, develop and demonstrate clean-energy technologies.
But companies and industry associations want more specific details on how the programs will work, how the money will be used and how the recipients will be held accountable.
"I'd like to make sure that (funding) is quite broad, that it's not so tight and narrow that it simply becomes a nice news release that never reaches anybody," says Perry Kinkaide, president and CEO of the Edmonton-based Alberta Council of Technologies (ABCTech).
"More importantly, (the program) should be designed in such a way that it can be used by, and possibly leveraged by, early-stage startups. I'm not going to pick which technology should be the right one. More importantly, they're zeroing in on the environment and, hopefully, it's packaged in such a way that makes it easy to use."
ABCTech represents individuals from companies that develop technologies ranging from carbon sequestration to telecommunications. Kinkaide says the money will benefit firms that operate and produce technologies for use outside major cities.
"There's been an awful lot of consultation going on to help small-town, rural communities - and it's time somebody put their money where their mouth is," says Kinkaide, whose group is touring southern Alberta communities early this month in a bid to help launch new businesses.
John Neate, acting chief operating officer for the Ontario Council for Environmental Technology Advancement, says the "great" federal announcement will help investors, purchasers, regulators and other interested parties to minimize their risk when it comes to spending on renewables.
"When you look at new technologies and the implementation of innovative technologies, there is often technical uncertainty," says Neate. "So that's one of the key areas that these types of initiatives, potentially, can actually address."
Neate is also the president of ETV Canada Inc., which runs the Canadian environmental technical verification program for the federal environment ministry. He says the new programs will ease the concerns of investors and regulators who are concerned about the credibility of new technologies and users' ability to understand them.
The ETV program provides independent verification that reported benefits of new technologies are true. Neate says the new federal programs should have built-in reporting mechanisms to ensure that new projects deliver on their promises.
"In some areas, there does need to be a hard look at the payback and the implications," says Neate.
Donald McInnes, president of Vancouver-based Plutonic Power Corp., which is building three run-of-river hydro projects as part of 38 power contracts that were awarded by BC Hydro last year, says the federal funding will stimulate the construction of more renewable energy projects.
McInnes says the scrapped Liberal program was "extremely prejudicial" to B.C. independent power producers because it would have limited funding to B.C. projects that had a maximum capacity of 50 megawatts.
He says the new federal money will enable his firm to offer electricity at cheaper prices when BC Hydro issues another call for tender on power projects this year.
McInnes expects most of the funding to be directed at hydro facilities in B.C., because of the province's ample water resources, although some companies have wind projects in the works.
Consumers will also benefit, he adds, because companies will be able to sell electricity to utilities at lower prices - because renewables are usually more expensive than coal-fired facilities - and the supply of power will increase.
ABCTech's Kinkaide says the money may also help early-stage companies deal with difficulties getting financing from investors.
Institutional investors can get "very nervous" about new technologies and simply don't look at them, because they want an asset that can back up their investment.
Many startups depend on angel investors, but angels, who provide anywhere from $50,000 up to $1.5 million, also want strict prerequisites to be met.
Kinkaide suggests Alberta has a chance to become a world leader in green technologies, like it is in energy.
While some people may debate the scientific need for environmental technologies, he adds, they are clearly in high demand.
"I've seen a considerable number of companies in the last six months that are zeroed in on alternative-energy forms that are green and clean - the bio-economy in particular (and) bio-diesel," says Kinkaide.
But in Alberta, early-stage tech companies that operate outside the energy sector have been hindered in attempts to gain financing, because oil and gas companies receive up to 30 per cent of new-investment dollars back from the provincial government.
"That discourages anyone to put money elsewhere," says Kinkaide.
Bill Bennett, the B.C. minister of state for mining, says he would like to see some of the money put toward projects that use coal-based energy to sequester greenhouse gasses.
"B.C. has more coal than any other hydrocarbon resource," says Bennett. "The reserves of coal we have in this province are phenomenal. Are we going to just let them sit there and pretend that they're not there and not use them?
"Or are we going to spend the money on research and figure out how we can release those hydrocarbons without damaging the environment?
"The sensible thing to do is to go at it."
Such technology is already available in the world, but it needs to be refined and commercialized, he adds. Bennett has discussed the issue with federal Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn, but the B.C. minister declined to discuss his specific federal funding requests.
Vancouver-based Nexterra Energy Corp., which designs and builds gasification systems that use wood waste, was expected to be among the first companies to benefit from the new federal money. A company spokesman says the firm has received funding for a small project in Quebec, but details were not immediately available.
Nexterra recently completed a project for U.S.-based Johnson Controls Inc. to supply a gasification system for a $16-million co-generation plant Johnson is building at the University of South Carolina.
(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)