Investment

Western REN moving forward with energy investment plan – SaltWire Network

Published

3 years ago

November 18, 2021

The Western Regional Enterprise Network (WREN) is taking the first step needed in hopefully implementing a recently-created energy investment plan aimed at helping homeowners in its region with energy costs.

This first step comes in the form of making an application to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) Community Energy Fund to receive funding for a residential retrofit energy efficiency program.

The Western Region Energy Investment Plan (WREIP) – called ‘A Roadmap for Addressing Climate Change and Building the Clean Energy Economy’ – outlines the baseline energy consumption within the region. It also highlights opportunities to reduce local energy consumption, which can help to reduce energy expenditures in the region.

The plan also points to generating renewable energy within the region, “which can then generate revenue,” says Evan Nemeth, WREN Economic Development Officer and project lead.

The application to the FCM will help the WREN better define the opportunities and solutions needed to implement retrofits in the region it covers.

It will also help, says Nemeth, “to identify the necessary funding mechanisms to enable homeowners to implement recommendations for their residences.”

It’s been identified that average household energy expenditures in the WREN’s Western Region of Nova Scotia amounted to $5,800 in 2016.

With approximately 22,800 households in the region, that means households were spending a total of $132 million annually on energy.

That amount is projected to increase with the federal carbon tax.

The bulk of the energy consumed in the region covered by the WREN is largely imported from other parts of the world (in the case of oil and gas) and within the province (in the case of electricity).

This means the bulk of the $132 million being spent is leaving the local economy annually, reads a briefing document sent to the seven municipal units that are part of WREN.

These municipal units are the municipalities of Argyle, Barrington, Clare, Digby and Yarmouth, and the towns of Digby and Yarmouth. The units are being asked for letters of support to accompany the FCM funding application.

AN AGING HOUSING STOCK

There is an aging housing stock in the Western Region.

The amount of homes that meet the definition of energy poverty – meaning their spending on home heating and electricity is greater than six per cent of their after-tax household income – are:

• 58 per cent of households in Digby County;

• 52 per cent of households in Shelburne County;

• and, 51 per cent of households in Yarmouth County.

The WREIP document says residential buildings account for 60 per cent of the energy use of all buildings within the Western Region, which also takes into account commercial and industrial properties.

“As such, widespread residential retrofits represent a significant opportunity to contribute towards creating space on the transmission grid, while also lowering energy poverty and keeping dollars in the hands of residents,” the document states.

Nemeth says once letters of support are received from the seven municipal units, the WREN will be filing the funding application.

“We have submitted a pre-application to the FCM and have been incorporating their feedback. We expect to submit the full application shortly after we receive the requested letters of support,” he says. “From there, we expect we’ll know if we are successful in obtaining the funding by early 2022.”

QUICK GLANCE

• The WREIP document includes benchmarks of current energy consumption data from across the Western Region.

• It outlines 28 energy actions that would reduce energy consumption through efficiency improvements and increase local sustainable energy generation.

• If implemented, these energy efficiency and generation actions would decrease energy expenditures for businesses, institutions and residents.

• If implemented, it would also increase energy revenue, thereby keeping more money in the local economy, while lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

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Investment

Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

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Investment

S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published

3 weeks ago

October 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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Economy

S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

Published

4 weeks ago

October 11, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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