Although raising awareness and education are effective tools for transforming practices, we must admit that their effects work gradually over time. The three levels of government can play an important role in accelerating behavioural changes or the adoption of new technologies. They have two ways of influencing behaviour: taxation and legislation.

At the taxation level, governments obviously have the power to impose taxes, and they can also create fiscal incentives such as direct and indirect subsidies, preferred rate loans and tax credits. At the legal level they can enact laws and regulations to force a change in behaviour or technology.

Up to now the various provincial governments have been more inclined to use fiscal incentives to encourage residential property owners to install alternative energy systems such as geothermal, wind turbines and passive and active solar panels. Such measures can translate into a refund as high as 60% of the equipment acquisition and installation cost, depending on the province and the technology. Nevertheless, the perception of the buyer’s risk remains high for several reasons:

• Renewable technology manufacturers are often less well established than their competitors in traditional technologies;
• The initial investment remains high for renewable technologies, even with subsidies. The owners only recover their investment with use;
• The prices of some renewable technologies are falling rapidly as demand increases. This encourages some people to delay the purchase in the hope of saving even more;
• The general shortage of competent experts, particularly for installation of new technologies, increases the consumers’ perception of risk;
• Renewable technologies are still at the product life cycle stage addressed to “early adopters,” while their traditional competitors are at the “cash cow” stage. Consequently, the marketing strategy for renewable technologies can only work if it is addressed to early adopters.

In other words, according to the market studies, the main hindrances to the adoption of renewable technologies are the high entry-level costs, the shortage of skilled labour and the apprehensions associated with any new technology. Another area where governments are able to accelerate change is the adoption of regulations more favourable to renewable technologies. Amending national and provincial building codes would be an example. 

In fact, governments have already worked on reducing the entry-level costs through incentives. Amending the building codes may be a premature solution, in view of the strength of the lobby groups in place and consumers’ reluctance to invest in technologies they know very little about. The most relevant actions that governments could take are:

1. Creating and funding a training program for skilled and specialized labour;
2. Raising awareness among industry players in various marketing interventions (conventions, publications, website, etc.);
3. As major work providers, amending specifications to promote the integration of clean technologies into their lands and buildings.

Governments must have a critical mass of people on board to make it politically worthwhile to support more compromising measures. Unless there is a marked and very rapid increase in energy costs over the next few months, this critical mass will continue to build little by little. It is difficult for governments to force industry’s hand without entering into a political war that they risk losing. That being said, with the rising trend of energy prices, the falling costs of renewable technologies may lead to a great future.