Business case: Organic Waste-to-Energy
Assess viable waste-to-energy systems and business models for your project
LOCAL ENERGY GENERATION
Read the guide for more information on creating a successful application.
Read the application guideFunding Snapshot
- Grant for up to 50%* of eligible costs
- Up to a maximum of $100,000
The following organizations are eligible for GMF funding.
Canadian municipal governments (e.g., towns, cities, regions, districts, and local boards)
Municipal partners, which include:
- private sector entities
- municipally-owned corporations
- regional, provincial or territorial organizations delivering municipal services
- non-governmental organizations
- not-for-profit organizations
- research institutes (e.g., universities)
- An Indigenous community is an eligible lead applicant if they are partnering with a Canadian municipal government on an eligible project, or if they have a shared service agreement with a Canadian municipal government related to municipal infrastructure, climate change or adaptation.
A business case that assesses viable waste-to-energy systems and business models for a given site and/or feedstock.
Applications are accepted year-round, though this offer may close when all funding has been allocated.
* The following applicants may qualify for a grant of up to 80 percent of eligible project costs:
- municipalities (or their partners) with a population of 10,000 or under;
- regional governments or groups of municipalities where the average population of the member municipalities is 10,000 or under;
- eligible Indigenous communities; and,
- northern communities
Northern and eligible Indigenous communities that are applying to GMF for the first time may qualify for a grant of up to 100 percent of eligible costs.
The North is defined as the three territories and the northern extent of seven provinces. This includes portions of the following provinces defined by Statistics Canada codes: Newfoundland and Labrador (10), Québec (24), Ontario (35), Manitoba (46), Saskatchewan (47), Alberta (48) and British Columbia (59).
What we fund
We fund business cases that assess viable waste-to-energy systems and business models for a given site and/or feedstock. This funding helps Canadian cities and communities determine whether it is viable to produce and utilize energy from landfill gas or waste organic material, and generate additional valuable products such as digestate and fertilizers, ultimately resulting in a net GHG emission reduction.
Your business case can explore a system that generates energy from landfill gas, anaerobic digestion or aerobic composting with heat recovery for local organic waste, including food waste, yard waste, biosolids, or the organic fraction of construction/demolition waste, packaging, agricultural or forestry waste.
Your business case should prepare you for a feasibility study. A business case and feasibility study may be undertaken together as one project, eligible for a grant of up to a maximum of $200,000 for the project as a whole.
Your business case should aim to:
- Determine the practicality and viability of available organic waste-to-energy systems for your site and/or feedstock and identify a preferred system or systems.
- Assess the potential environmental, social, and economic impacts and benefits.
- Quantify expected costs and potential revenue streams.
- Identify partnership opportunities.
- Define proposed business model, including recommendations for project ownership, operations, and financing.
- Identify risks and mitigation options.
Your business case will need to consider, at minimum, the following:
- What are the GHG impacts of the solution or approach being studied?
- Is there an economic benefit to the municipality of developing an organic waste-to-energy system, rather than managing the feedstock in another manner?
- An equity assessment that answers, at minimum, the following questions:
- Which equity-deserving groups might benefit the most from the project, and/or be burdened, directly or indirectly, by the project or decision? How are these groups positively or negatively impacted by the project or decision?
- What strategies can be used to address barriers or mitigate negative impacts?
- What data sources, reports, or mapping resources can help illuminate equity issues in your local context?
Eligible activities that may be undertaken as part of your business case include:
- A scan and evaluation of available local organic waste feedstocks.
- A lifecycle assessment of available feedstocks.
- A scan and evaluation of available organic waste-to-energy systems and providers.
- An assessment of the market for energy and other products created by the proposed system.
- An evaluation of available sites and/or site viability for an organic waste-to-energy system.
- A financial analysis (e.g., cost estimates, revenue projections, return on investment (ROI), and funding options).
- An examination of the legal and regulatory context and implications for the project.
- An evaluation of the organization’s ability to deliver the solution.
- An assessment of partnership opportunities and business model options.
- An assessment of environmental, social, and economic impacts and benefits.
- Stakeholder engagement.
Business cases for Organic Waste-to-Energy projects must also include a lifecycle assessment (LCA) or lifecycle inventory of proposed feedstocks.
This analysis should include a comparison of the environmental impacts of the use of the feedstock in a proposed organic waste-to-energy system, in contrast to the current management of the feedstock. It should also confirm if here is sufficient and reliable quantity and quality of feedstock supply both cyclically over the course of an operating year and over the facility’s planned lifecycle. (ISO14040, ISO14044, and the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) handbook provide optional guidance to support applicants in undertaking an LCA.)
What your project needs to achieve
All projects that meet the criteria on this page are eligible. Please note that we consider several factors in making a funding decision. We strive to fund the most impactful initiatives, so not all eligible projects will be approved for funding.
Further information regarding the offer can be found in the Organic Waste-to-Energy application guide
- Requirements for all Organic Waste-to-Energy projects
-
All projects (business cases, feasibility studies, and capital projects) must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- The project generates energy from:
- Upgrading or direct use of landfill gas; OR
- Anaerobic digestion of local organic waste; OR
- Aerobic composting of local organic waste with heat recovery.
- The project results in a net GHG emissions reduction compared to the current baseline.
- Project creates a net energy benefit relative to the current baseline.
Note: local organic waste may include food waste, yard waste, biosolids, or the organic fraction of construction/demolition waste, packaging, agricultural or forestry waste.
- The project generates energy from:
- Equity considerations
-
GMF recognizes that many urgent social issues are interrelated, and that climate action and sustainability initiatives need to be designed to ensure fair distribution of benefits and burdens, across all segments of a community and across generations. Projects will be assessed on their potential to result in improved socio-economic outcomes and a more equitable distribution of benefits and burdens among the community, for present and future generations. While projects can be eligible without incorporating these considerations, preference is given to projects that:
- Integrate principles of anti-racism, equity, inclusion and reconciliation.
- Apply inclusive community engagement practices.
- Implement social procurement.
- Generate significant socio-economic benefits, such as increased accessibility, improved outdoor spaces, and inclusive employment and apprenticeship.
As you develop your project approach, consider the following questions:
- How can you design an engagement approach that would enable you to consider the diverse needs, experiences, and voices of all stakeholders and rights holders in this project?
- Which equity-deserving groups might benefit the most, and/or be burdened, directly or indirectly, by this project? How are these groups positively or negatively impacted?
- Are there opportunities to address or mitigate negative impacts?
- Are there opportunities to rectify existing or potential biases, discrimination, or exclusionary practices in your project planning, design, funding, and implementation?
- How can you maximize the socio-economic benefits that your project generates?
- How can you leverage your procurement practices to generate more positive social, economic and environmental outcomes within your community and region?
- Multi-solving
-
GMF seeks to fund the very best examples of municipal initiatives that achieve a multitude of benefits for the environment, communities and local economies. Higher application evaluation scores are given to projects that demonstrate excellence in one or more of the following areas:
- sustainable materials management
- biodiversity
- socio-economic benefits
- meaningful engagement and collaboration with rights holders and stakeholders
Required documents
To apply for GMF funding, you must submit:
- a pre-application form
- an application form
- a project workbook
- all required supporting documents specified in the application guide
A GMF project officer will be your point of contact throughout the process and will review your file and provide feedback. You may be asked to revisit some steps to help you submit a complete and high-quality application.
Application process
Phase 1: Pre-application submission
You must submit a pre-application form through FCM’s funding portal. To do this, create a client profile and follow the steps in FCM’s funding portal to submit your pre-application form.
Phase 2: Eligibility determination
A GMF outreach officer or advisor will review your pre-application form. They will determine whether your organization and initiative are eligible to proceed to the next stage of the application process. You will receive a response within 15 business days of the date we receive your pre-application form.
Phase 3: Full application submission
If your organization and initiative are determined to be eligible to proceed to the next stage, your GMF outreach officer or advisor will inform you that the full application form is available through FCM’s funding portal. They will also provide you with an Excel project workbook template to complete and submit with the full application form.
It is important to note that even if a project is deemed eligible to move forward with a full application, it does not guarantee full application eligibility or that the project will be approved for funding.
As you complete the application form, contact your GMF outreach officer or advisor if you have any questions. Once you’ve filled out the application form and project workbook and attached the required supporting documents, submit it to GMF through the FCM funding portal.
Phase 4: GMF project officer review
Once the full application form is submitted a GMF project officer will be assigned to your file and will review your application for accuracy and completeness and will work with you to resolve any remaining questions.
Phase 5: Peer review and internal review
An external expert peer review panel evaluates all capital and study applications. There will also be an internal analysis to provide a funding recommendation to GMF’s managing director, the GMF Council and FCM’s Board of Directors.
Phase 6: FCM funding decision
For studies, funding decisions are determined by GMF’s managing director. The average time for a funding decision is three to five months after your full application form submission.
For capital projects, FCM’s Board of Directors approves the funding recommendation made by the GMF Council. The average time for a funding decision is four to six months after your full application form submission.
How to apply
- Download and review the application guide.
- Reach out to a GMF representative to discuss your project at gmfinfo@fcm.ca or 1-877-417-0550.
- Review the list of prerequisites and supporting documents in appendix D of the application guide.
- Review the eligible and ineligible costs:
- Ensure you have a detailed project budget in place and are securing other funding sources for your project.
- Visit the FCM funding portal to create your profile and request a PIN to access the system. Already have an FCM funding portal profile? Skip to Step 7.
- Complete the pre-application form available on the platform.
Quebec municipalities
FCM has an agreement with Quebec's ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation (MAMH) that allows the ministry to review applications to GMF before they are submitted to FCM. Quebec municipalities applying for funding from GMF must follow the process below to submit their application to MAMH.
Once you have completed all the steps in the ‘How to apply’ section above, submit your application by following the steps below. Note that the content of the links is available in French only.
- Save your application form using the appropriate file name.
- Save the application form to your local device with the following filename: FMV_ "your municipality's name"_ "date" (YYMMDD). For example: FMV_TownofABC_180228.pdf
- Log in to the Portail gouvernemental des affaires municipales et régionales. using your username and password.
- To submit your form click on “File Transfer”.
- In the “Recipient” drop-down list, select the applicable program.
- Upload your files and select “Transfer” once your request is complete.
- Receive confirmation from MAMH.
- MAMH assesses the applications to ensure that the projects submitted do not conflict with Quebec's government policies and directives. Once the assessment has been completed, MAMH informs the applicant of their decision and sends compliant applications to GMF for review.
- MAMH requires up to 15 working days to review the application and forward it to GMF.
- Receive approval from GMF.
- GMF will inform the applicant once they receive the application from MAMH and review the submission. If the application is approved for funding, an agreement between FCM and the applicant is prepared.
Need help to see if this is the right funding for you?
Contact our Outreach team who can answer any questions you have relating to this funding opportunity.
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Recover value and energy from organic materials and landfill gas
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