Federal Government

Continued leadership on climate change and clean energy is essential for the future prosperity and safety of our province and the world. This requires continued action to phase out our use of fossil fuels, replacing them with clean energy and much greater energy efficiency.

BC’s 7% Provincial Sales Tax has for many years included an exemption for fossil fuels used for transport and heating fuel. This exemption will continue when the transition to HST occurs, while exemptions for fossil-fuel reducing items such as bicycles and energy efficiency equipment will cease. As such, it is a major contradiction to the stated goals of all BC’s main political parties.

By removing the exemption, BC could receive an additional $500 million a year in income, which could be used to create two new funds: a $300 million-a-year Health Transportation Fund, and a $200 million-a-year Health Buildings Fund. These funds could be used to support programs which would enable people to reduce their travel and heating costs by far more than 7%, reducing energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, and creating many new jobs.

The BCSEA knows of ten specific barriers that are slowing, impeding and deterring the development of small-scale renewable energy in BC. Most of these result from attitudes, regulations and criteria from the past era of abundant cheap hydropower being applied to the new renewable energy technologies, creating a “bad fit”.

1. The disproportionately high cost of Electrical Code permitting for renewables
2. Lack of renewable energy training for BC Safety Authority Inspectors
3. The limitations of Canadian Certification Standards
4. Excessive service size requirements for renewable energy sites
5. The lack of renewable energy training for electrical engineers and electricians
6. The loss of PST exemptions
7. Excessive BC Hydro manual disconnect requirements
8. Excessive municipal tax assessments on renewable energy
9. Lack of integrated design requirements for Remote Communities Electrification
10. Expensive red tape in renewable energy planning & approvals

Our recommendation is that the government establish a Small-Scale Renewable Energy Barriers Working Team to examine the barriers, evaluate possible solutions, and give consistent leadership until they have been resolved.

In October 2006, a group of 56 non-profit organizations, including the BC Sustainable Energy Association, presented a set of recommendations outlining our key expectations for the soon-to-be released environment plan.