Frequently Asked Questions: Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs)

How does the Program define Indigenous ownership?

The Program defines Indigenous ownership as Projects where the Indigenous share of ownership is significant enough as a portion of project costs that it will result in long term benefits for Indigenous communities. Projects with meaningful Indigenous ownership will qualify for funding up to 50% of total project costs, as follows:

• 25% where total project costs are up to $100 million
• 20% where total project costs are greater than $100 million, up to $200 million
• 15% where total project costs are greater than $200 million, up to $300 million
• 10% where total project costs are greater than $300 million.

When a project is majority Indigenous owned, it qualifies for funding up to 75% of total project costs. The Program defines an Indigenous Recipient when the Indigenous organization owns over 50% of the Project and will be sharing continued revenues post-completion at a minimum of the same percentage.

An Indigenous recipient could be an Indigenous community or government, Tribal Council, National or regional Indigenous council, Tribal organization, or a majority owned and controlled for-profit or not-for-profit organizations. Regardless of the level and type of Indigenous ownership, the Project should also provide economic and social benefits to the community such as local job creation and skills training. 

Can a project or recipient receive funding from both SREPs Deployment and the Capacity Building streams?

Receiving funding through the Deployment stream does not prevent an Applicant from applying to the Capacity Building stream (or vice versa) but the objectives, eligible activities and application timelines are different.

• The Capacity Building stream focuses on funding the people behind future renewable energy projects through knowledge building and sharing, studies as well as equity, diversity and inclusion activities. Projects were selected through a merit-based ranked process. The 1st call for proposals closed on November 5, 2021.

• The Deployment stream targets construction ready renewable energy and grid modernization projects and will be accepting applications through a continuous intake process until all funds are committed or the Program end date of March 31, 2025, whichever is first.

If you have submitted a proposal to the Capacity Building stream to pursue an initiative that is complimentary initiative to your SREPs Deployment application (i.e. equity, diversity and inclusion related), both submissions may be considered. If you are unsure which stream to apply for, please email us at sreps-erite@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

How does repayability work?

Contribution Agreements are repayable when profits directly attributed to the project are realized within the first five years following project completion. On an annual basis following the anniversary of the project completion date, recipients will complete a report on the revenues received from the project and the costs attributed to operating and financing the project. In years where a profit has been achieved, the recipient could be asked to repay a percentage of that profit equivalent to the percentage of funding received. Profit is defined in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Where no revenue is generated, a nil report is acceptable. As opposed to a zero interest loan, the funding is considered “a conditionally repayable contribution agreement”.

Indigenous recipients are eligible for non-repayable contribution agreements.

Who can apply to the Grid Modernization stream?

Only utilities and system operators are eligible for funding under the Grid Modernization stream of SREPs.

Applicants who are not considered utilities or system operators, including non-regulated affiliates of utilities, may still apply to the Program with grid modernization projects. These projects will be considered under the Emerging Technologies stream. Appendix E of the Applicant Guide provides language around these types of projects.

What is the timeline to submit an application?

SREPs deployment stream is a continuous intake Program, and will be accepting applications continuously until funds are fully committed or the Program end date of March 31, 2025, whichever comes first.

Once the registrant receives a notification that their registration is in scope for SREPs, they will receive a Technical and Financial Application Package. The Applicant may take as long as necessary to complete this package. Once the Application Package is submitted, it will be reviewed and a decision communicated within 90 business days. If information is missing, the Applicant will be invited to resubmit their incomplete sections.

Can I submit additional information about my Project after completing the application?

Applicants are welcome to submit additional information at any point in the review process. New information may be requested by the reviewers as part of the evaluation process or could be provided voluntarily by the Applicant as the project develops. Note that the submission of new information could reset the commitment to a 90-business day service standard on a funding decision, but an exact timeline would depend on the complexity of the information provided.

Can a project that has already started be eligible for funding?

Projects which have already started construction are eligible for funding, provided they meet the Program’s requirements. However, expenses incurred prior to Project Approval do not count towards total project costs. Funding is only guaranteed once the contribution agreement is signed so early costs are at the applicant’s own risk and expense.

How are Program funds committed?

SREPs funding is committed through the signing of contribution agreements. The eligible expenditure period begins at the Project Approval notification date and ends at the Project Completion Date or Program end date of March 31, 2025, whichever is earlier.

On a quarterly basis, the total amount of funds committed by the Program will be updated on the website along with information on the number of applications approved.

The approval process is based on the principle of “first in construction, first served”. What does this mean?

The Program is seeking projects with all the necessary technical specifications, financial considerations and regulatory approvals in place to begin construction or implementation of the designed project. Projects which do not satisfy this requirement will be asked for additional details or to resubmit their application.

In cases where project approval will enable a project to become “construction ready” the Program could provide a conditional approval, however no Program funding is committed until a contribution agreement is signed.

What grid services are projects expected to provide?

Section 4.3 of the Applicant Guide states that projects under the established and emerging streams capable of delivering electricity must also be capable of providing grid services that synchronous generators have traditionally provided in the jurisdiction where the Project is located.

More specifically, for the purposes of eligibility in the Program, at a minimum each Project capable of delivering electricity will need to have the capability to provide the following grid services as defined in applicable grid codes, and in their absence applicable standards:

• Fast Frequency Response (FFR) or Inertial Response, and
• Primary Frequency Response (PFR), and
• Secondary Frequency Response (SFR) / Automatic Governor Control (AGC) (with ability to send/receive external control signals), and
• Reactive Power and Voltage Control (RPVC)  

Where grid service capabilities are undefined in applicable grid codes, projects must meet equivalent capabilities as defined in the following standards and guidelines:

• Transmission and sub-transmission connected projects must refer to NERC Reliability Guidelines for BPS-connected IBRs (PDF, 3.2 KB) for PFR, SFR, and RPVC, and the current version of IEEE 2800, including draft, for FFR.
• Distribution connected projects must refer to IEEE 1547-2018 or CSA C22.3 No. 9-20.

What if there are regulations preventing the Project from providing some of the grid services required?

We recognize that existing markets and rules may exclude inverter based resources, such as wind, solar, storage and DERs, from providing certain grid services. Developments of markets and products to better utilize the capabilities of inverter based resources are the responsibility of the applicable utility and regulatory bodies. The focus of the Program is to ensure the technical capabilities and foundational control are enabled now to be prepared to respond to utility or system operator signals in the future.

What if my project can not meet the minimum size requirement? Can I bundle multiple sites into a single application?

Yes. Applicants may bundle multiple sites of the same technology type to meet the size requirement of a stream. Projects may not be bundled across multiple streams.

The application for a bundled project needs to be submitted by a single entity who will coordinate with all of the individual sites. This entity must fully own all of the project sites as contribution agreements can only be signed by the project(s) owner. This entity can have various layers of ownership and leasing agreements. Each site needs to meet all other requirements of the applicant guide.

The minimum size requirement of a project depends on the type of technology and the type of applicant as summarized in the table below.

Can my project contain technologies from multiple program streams? How will the project be funded?

Yes. Hybrid projects combine technologies from multiple streams into a single system, including:

• Established Renewables;
• Emerging Technologies; and
• Grid Modernization.

The maximum funding percentage will be determined according to the proportion of eligible expenditures in each Program stream. Hybrid projects only need to meet the minimum capacity requirement for one of the applicable streams.