The Green Municipal Fund Makes New Energy Project Funding Available to Municipal Governments 

Ottawa, ON – The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) today launched a new Green Municipal Fund (GMF) funding opportunity in the energy sector for municipal governments and municipal energy utilities.

Through the Energy Request for Proposals (RFP) process, GMF will award funds totaling approximately $20 million in low interest rate loans and $2 million in grants.

The Energy RFP will be divided into two streams:

Stream A:           Energy efficiency retrofits to municipal buildings, or the construction of new energy efficient municipal buildings.

Stream B:           New renewable energy supply projects and district energy distribution systems.

The Energy RFP will open February 8, 2006.  The Intent to Apply form, along with details of the RFP, will be available at www.sustainablecommunities.ca. The deadline for submission of the Intent to Apply for this RFP is March 1, 2006.  Applicants will be notified if their Intent to Apply is accepted and asked to submit a detailed proposal that will be reviewed by a team of independent, third-party experts.  Funding will be awarded primarily on the basis of anticipated environmental benefit, and secondarily for social and economic benefit. The RFP closes April 12, 2006.

There will be at least one RFP each year in the following GMF categories: energy, waste, water, sustainable transportation, and brownfield remediation. The Energy RFP is the second RFP to be issued by the GMF.  The first, launched in the fall of 2005, was for brownfield remediation. 

The Government of Canada has endowed $550 million to FCM to establish and manage the Green Municipal Fund.  The Fund supports partnerships and leveraging of both public and private sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.

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GMF Energy RFP contact: 

Jas Michalski (613) 241-5221 ext. 307rgy.rfp@fcm.ca

Media contact:

Lucille Hodgins (613) 241-5221 ext. 299 

Backgrounder on the Green Municipal Fund

 

The Green Municipal Fund (GMF) was established by the Government of Canada in its 2000 budget to stimulate investment in innovative municipal environmental projects that advance the progress of sustainable development in Canada’s communities. The Fund supports partnerships, leveraging both public and private sector funding to encourage municipal actions to improve air, water and soil quality, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

 

In 2000, the Government of Canada endowed FCM with $125-million to establish the GMF. This was doubled in 2001-2002 to $250 million, and increased again in 2005 by $300 million, half of which is dedicated to a new brownfield category. 

 

 

To date, 486 GMF studies, field tests, plans and capital projects have been approved for funding of $275 million, leveraging over $1.8 billion of economic activity in communities across Canada.

• The GMF has a competitive process for obtaining grant and loan funding for capital implementation projects: $50 to $70 million per year for loans, $7 to $10 million per year for grants.
• Funding of $8 to $12 million per year is available for grants for feasibility studies, assessments, field tests and sustainable community plans on a continuous intake basis.
• GMF continues to support municipal initiatives in energy, waste, water, sustainable transportation, and sustainable community planning. Brownfield remediation has been added as a new sector eligible for GMF funding. 
• In addition, up to $750,000 annually is allocated to the GMF Capacity Building program, which continues support for Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) – a network of more than 125 municipal governments who have committed to reducing greenhouse gases and acting on climate change.

As the only fund that specifically addresses the needs of municipal governments, the GMF’s broad range of financial products, resources, expertise and services have become the first stop for municipal governments wanting to pursue environmental infrastructure initiatives. Resources such as case studies and workshops are all part of the GMF toolkit that municipal governments are using to pursue their sustainable development goals.

The Green Municipal Fund is housed within the Centre for Sustainable Community Development at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Learn more about the GMF and other CSCD programs by visiting our website at: www.sustainablecommunities.ca