Guelph homeowners will be able to get zero-interest loans for solar panels, energy efficient upgrades by end of 2022

Guelph homeowners will soon be able to get zero-interest loans from the city to make their properties greener and more energy efficient.

According to a news release issued shortly after a statement from Mayor Cam Guthrie at city council’s July 18 meeting, the city announced final details are being sorted out with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) on a property assessed clean energy (PACE) program in Guelph, expected to be available at the end of 2022.

Through this program, property owners will be able to take on zero-interest loans — the capital will come via FCM — to cover the upfront costs of energy-saving retrofits, such as solar panels or energy efficient windows. Those loans would then be paid back through property taxes.

“It’s important to make energy efficiency as easy as possible to motivate people to participate, and that’s what this program aims to do,” Mayor Cam Guthrie states in the release.

“The PACE program is a natural fit for Guelph and crucial in our Race To Zero.”

The program was announced in early 2020, but was to be administered by Our Energy Guelph. The July 18 news release revealed a condition of FCM providing the funds for the program was that loans could not be administered by a third party, but by the municipality itself. Because of this, the release notes, Our Energy Guelph has been dissolved.

“We believe strongly in a sustainable future for Guelph and we’re confident the community will benefit from this program,” states Alex Ciccone, chair of the board of directors at Our Energy Guelph, in the release.

“With the city taking the lead, we felt it was time to re-evaluate our involvement and what we can contribute, and to that end, the board of directors voted to dissolve the organization.”

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