Mindscape Summer Hours: 8-5 M-Th, 8:30-noon F From July 2 (after Canada Day weekend) through Sept. 2 (after Labour Day weekend), Mindscape will switch to our summer schedule. The office
will officially be open from 8am to 5pm Monday through Thursday, and from 8:30 until noon on Friday. Enjoy the summer weather!
Vancouver City Council Approves Green Homes Program: 2008-06-27 Vancouver City Council recently announced that all new homes in their jurisdiction will be constructed with R22 insulation in the walls,
R12 insulation around the slab, Energy Star Windows, in home energy-use display meters, dual-flush toilets, direct vent and electronic ignition
gas fire places, Heat Recovery Ventilators, "solar ready" service shafts, infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles, and a
mandatory energuide audit with blower door test. Per their press release, "We recognize that this is merely the first step down a challenging road
to eventual carbon neutrality in 2030, but it is a start. Now the important work of getting the necessary training to industry for our
September 5th roll out really begins. Please check in with our website www.vancouver.ca/greenhomes"
Mindscape Announces 400th LEED for Homes Project The LEED for Homes program barely exists in Canada,
and already Mindscape has received tremendous interest from Ontario's builders, and is currently supporting the construction of
nearly 450 homes pursuing various levels of LEED certification.
Mindscape wishes to congratulate North Star Homes for
being the fortunate builder to have helped Mindscape reach this milestone. Please either refer to our Energyscape services page or contact usfor more information about how you can become involved with the LEED for Homes program.
Post-Event Update: below is some embedded eye and ear candy of the talk given by Dr. Herman Scheer (world renowned German politician
responsible for the renewable energy laws in Germany that have thrust them forward to the top of the emerging
energy economy). Refer to
Solar Village on Blip TV for further videos of the talks given, especially that of
David Suzuki.
Mindscape Nominated for Ontario Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award: 2008-06-13 Mindscape is pleased to announce that the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce has nominated us for one of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce's
Business Excellence Awards: The American Express Award for Small Business (less than 250 employees). Two Ontario companies with fewer than 250 employees
will be recognized for achievement in sales and employment growth, innovation, community initiatives, technological advancement, environmental
responsibility, and/or general entrepreneurial skill. Mindscape is very pleased to have been nominated for this award, and thanks the KW Chamber of
Commerce for their support. Refer to the Ontario
Chamber of Commerce's awards website for more information.
Net-Zero Energy Home Coalition Announces New Awards Program: 2008-06-11 Mindscape is delighted to announce that the Net-Zero Energy Home Coalition
(NZEHC) is launching a special awards program that will recognize builders who construct advanced energy efficient homes. The first awards
event is slated to occur ~June '09, and nominations will be accepted starting this fall for awards recognizing (1) the "closest to net-zero energy"
retrofit project of the year, (2) the "closest to net-zero energy” custom builder of the year, (3) the "closest to net-zero energy” production
builder of the year, and (4) the Net-Zero Energy Home Champion of the year.
Refer to the official press release for more information.
CaGBC Shifting Into the Mainstream: 2008-06-11/12 The Canada Green Building Council is "Shifting into the Mainstream", and
Mindscape is pleased to be exhibiting and speaking at this inaugural (premier) national green building event hosted at the MTCC in Toronto.
Refer to the official event website for more information.
Minto Constructs First LEED Silver Home in Canada Mindscape wishes to congratulate Minto for constructing the first LEED Silver rated home in Canada. Minto has demonstrated their leadership in
the building industry many times before, and Mindscape is pleased to recognize them again for their ongoing contributions to greening the
residential sector in Ontario. Congratulations to Lyle Scott, Derek Hickson, and the entire Minto team!
OSEA Launches Green Energy Act (GEA) Campaign: 2008-06-02 Mindscape is proud to support the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association's
campaign for a Green Energy Act in Ontario. Building upon the success of Ontario's
Standard Offer Program, and following in the traditions of advanced renewable
energy policies in other countries such as Denmark, Germany, and Spain, the GEA presents the opportunity for Ontario to set the world stage for the next
decade's worth of opportunities in the Renewable Energy industries.
Refer to the official OSEA press release for more information.
OPA Freezes Standard Offer Program for >10kW: 2008-05-13 We regret to confirm that it is indeed true that the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) has put a temporary freeze on the now world acclaimed
Standard Offer Program. Projects under 10kW are fortunately unaffected,
and on-farm biogas projects under 250kW are also unaffected. All other projects will be unable to apply for Standard Offer Contracts until
after the OPA releases it's next update. In the mean time, Mindscape continues to process applications for those projects which are unaffected,
and to offer consulting support for those projects which are currently waiting for an OPA update.
Refer to the
OPA's official announcement for more information, and please feel free to contact our office.
