(Emissions Reduction Alberta website)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Small to medium-sized businesses

Alberta government announces new funding to help businesses reduce energy costs

Oct 18, 2023 | 3:20 PM

The Alberta government has announced a $40 million investment geared towards helping small and medium-sized businesses find new ways to lower emissions, reduce energy costs and grow the economy.

Provincial representatives say small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the Alberta economy, making up about 96 per cent of businesses and employing hundreds of thousands of Albertans, rendering them an important part of reducing emissions across the province.

The investment is funded by Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction system, where the provincial government invests revenues from the industrial carbon price to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative clean technology solutions.

The project by Emissions Reduction Alberta titled “Emerging Innovators Challenge” will be helping to fund scale-up, pilot and first-of-kind emissions-reduction projects.

The province says the $40 million will help support new ideas and innovations that have not been commercialized before, in everything from energy efficiency and heating, digital solutions, reducing methane emissions, and more. They believe these projects will help businesses reduce costs, increase efficiency and stay competitive.

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“Small businesses have a big impact in Alberta. We’re helping our amazing makers, entrepreneurs and creators to lower emissions and create cutting-edge ideas for the future. I look forward to seeing the creative technologies that result from this exciting new funding competition,” said Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas.

The province says the investment is part of Alberta’s Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan to reduce emissions while supporting a strong economy.

The Emerging Innovators Challenge is open to small enterprises (organizations with fewer than 50 employees), medium enterprises (organizations with fewer than 500 employees) and Indigenous communities and organizations of any size. Up to $5 million is available per project, with a minimum request of $250,000. Applications under the Emerging Innovators Challenge can originate from anywhere around the world but must be piloted, demonstrated or deployed in Alberta. The application deadline is Dec. 14.

“With more than half of the funded projects in Emissions Reduction Alberta’s portfolio led by small and medium enterprises, we are deeply committed to supporting the success of these organizations and the leading-edge work they do. This new funding opportunity will help Alberta businesses access the critical capital and support services they need to get their technologies to market,” sad Justin Riemer, CEO of Emissions Reduction Alberta.

The province claims the Emerging Innovators Challenge will increase businesses’ chances of getting their innovative technologies to market faster than they might without government support and contributes to Alberta’s goal for carbon neutrality by 2050.

Funded by the Government of Alberta, Emissions Reduction Alberta has committed $887 million toward 254 projects worth $7.7 billion to help reduce emissions, keep the industry competitive and lead to new business opportunities in Alberta. Officials say their projects to date are estimated to deliver 40 million tonnes of emissions reductions by 2030 and 110 million tonnes of emissions reductions by 2050.