Ontario takes the green leap...

Dalton McGuinty's Ontario government recently announced their desire to pass the province's new green legislation, the Green Energy Act. The act itself is very much reflective of the types of things going on in the United States as part of Obama's massive stimulus packages, which are seeking to rebuild much of a dying manufacturing sector, repair the economy, get people back to work and save the environment all at the same time.

The act is full of a variety of interesting and commendable traits, including lenient debt financing plans for renewable projects, a community power corporation, full access to the power grid for renewable projects, and a myriad of ambitious goals for renewable energy production in Ontario, primarily in wind and solar power. You can imagine that this will involve a whole whack of government funding.

One part of the act that has gained notable attention is the requirement to have an energy audit done before a home can be sold. This is a good idea, although many have been arguing that it's an added cost to the homeowner and it may reduce the value of the home, something that an already battered housing market doesn't need. But that's kind of the point. If your home looks nice but has no insulation, the potential buyers should know about it.

This facet could prove to be immensely costly to both the provincial and federal government. As it stands, the Federal government's ecoENERGY program provides around 70,000 audits per year across the country, with the average homeowner walking away with approximately $1500 from the Feds in grant money. Do the math. It's not cheap. And the province matches that amount. So if the province requires Ontario home-sellers to do the audit, the number of annual audits in Ontario alone could jump to 250,000. I wonder where that money is going to come from?

Mind you, just because these new mandatory audits are done does not require the homeowner to actually retrofit their home, so the grants may not be as high as anticipated. But with audits at $300 a pop, the homeowner might be tempted to do something. I certainly hope McGuinty's cronies have been in talks with the Feds because this program could explode.

The act has the potential to produce roughly 50,000 jobs and make Ontario one of the most energy efficient regions in North America. People might be complaining about the act, but at least the government is doing something. I've always maintained that government's need to make the tough decisions. Here's hoping this is one of those good ones.