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The STAR™ process collected a range of non-technical needs for each of the sub-sectors. These needs were then prioritized according to stage of development and their importance in ensuring that technology solutions can reach the market. The stage of development refers to the likelihood of the need being met within the short (higher priority), medium or long term (lower priority).

Cross-cutting needs, along with those for each of the sub-sectors, addressing a variety of issues are listed below.

• Federal and provincial environmental regulations should be developed with both CAC and GHG emissions reductions in mind, since these are related and could involve trade-offs. This will help avoid inconsistent policy decisions.

• The development of improved business cases, or value propositions, for downstream natural gas technologies that recognize and balance multiple environmental and reliability benefits and trade-offs. Many available technologies need a more robust business case, along with the acceptance of longer payback thresholds of 5-10 years.

• Policy/regulatory changes to allow integrated provision of household energy and/or collaboration between gas and electric utilities:

- - Both electricity and natural gas are used within many Canadian homes, and minimizing environmental impact may require collaborative instead of competitive service provision.

• Policy/regulatory changes to allow individual unit thermal metering in multi-unit residential buildings:

- - Allocation of thermal energy costs to users within a multi-unit building is seen as a tool to promote energy efficiency via increased adoption of high-efficiency centralized CHP, heating/cooling equipment, and district energy.

• Policy/regulatory changes to allow use of side wall venting:

- - Current regulations create barriers to the installation of high-efficiency furnaces in some applications.

• Better integration between NG and electricity providers:

• Funding for R&D of NG equipment/technologies relevant to the commercial sector:

- - The commercial sector is seen as a market that often leads the acceptance and integration of new technologies with an ability to capitalize on R&D funding.

• Advocacy/policy changes that encourage development of district energy systems:

- - District energy represents a significant opportunity for energy savings in both the residential and commercial sectors, but faces multiple challenges. Key challenges include lack of knowledge and awareness, absence of project champions, difficulty in developing a viable business case (high capital cost of piping) and lack of technical awareness 21 as well as lack of Canadian regulations for thermal/hot water metering for residential multi-unit buildings.

The industrial sub-sector can be risk-averse and is considered to be a difficult market for new technology, requiring significant evidence of demonstration. The two needs below would explore options to provide easier access to market.

• Early demonstration for new technologies to establish performance under a range of operating conditions.

• Policy or financial mechanisms to encourage adoption of new technologies.

Page 37 - SD_NG_BC

Page 37 - SD_NG_BC