Introducing Bill C‑269 – Unlocking Canada’s Untapped Clean Energy
Today, I introduced my Private Member’s Bill, the Heat Recovery Tax Credit Act, in the House of Commons. This bill addresses a major oversight in Canada’s clean energy investment tax credits by recognizing the enormous potential of Waste Heat to Power. Right now, industries across the country lose up to half of the heat produced during normal operations. Instead of letting that energy escape into the atmosphere, we can convert it into zero‑emissions electricity — power that requires no new resources and produces no new emissions. My bill will help industries capture this opportunity, improve efficiency, reduce emissions, and contribute more clean power to the grid using energy we’re already producing today.
Introducing Bill C‑269: The Heat Recovery Tax Credit Act
The purpose of Bill C‑269, formally titled An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (heat recovery tax credit), is straightforward: to ensure that Waste Heat to Power projects qualify for federal investment tax credits, correcting a major gap in the existing clean‑economy incentives framework.
Why Waste Heat to Power Matters
Across Canadian industries, 30–50% of generated heat is lost during normal industrial processes — heat we could be capturing and converting into usable, emissions‑free electricity. This is one of the simplest and most cost‑effective clean‑energy opportunities available to us today.
By enabling a tax credit structure specifically designed for heat recovery, Bill C‑269 ensures that companies can make the capital investments needed to capture roughly one‑third of the energy currently being wasted — all without creating any new emissions whatsoever.
This means:
- More clean power added to the grid
- Lower emissions, using the energy we already produce
- Greater industrial efficiency across multiple Canadian sectors
- A practical path forward that does not require shutting down or replacing existing energy systems
Waste Heat to Power is truly low‑hanging fruit in Canada’s clean‑energy transition. It delivers measurable results quickly, affordably, and without compromising our economic foundations.
Fixing a Gap in Canada’s Clean‑Economy Tax Credits
The federal government has introduced several clean‑economy investment tax credits in recent years — including credits for clean technology, clean electricity, clean hydrogen, and carbon capture.
But despite these advances, Waste Heat to Power was left out of the framework entirely.
Bill C‑269 fixes that.
By amending the Income Tax Act to include a dedicated Heat Recovery Tax Credit, this bill supports industries that want to produce clean energy from the thermal energy they already generate.
This is not about favouring one sector over another.
It is about fairness, efficiency, and common‑sense emissions reduction.
A Clean‑Energy Win for Every Region of Canada
Because nearly every industrial sector produces waste heat — manufacturing, mining, energy production, fertilizer, forestry, cement, and more — the benefits of this bill extend coast to coast to coast.
Whether it’s a plant in Alberta, a mill in British Columbia, a refinery in Ontario, or a processing facility in Atlantic Canada, the opportunity is the same: turn lost heat into clean, reliable, emissions‑free electricity.
And because Waste Heat to Power projects require Canadian engineering, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance, the economic benefits will flow directly to Canadian workers.
Looking Ahead
In the coming weeks and months, I look forward to:
- Engaging with industry leaders who know firsthand the value of heat‑recovery systems
- Working with colleagues across all parties to improve and advance this bill
- Highlighting real‑world success stories of Waste Heat to Power across Canada
There is no good reason for Canada to keep wasting clean energy that is already being produced.
Bill C‑269 is one practical step toward fixing that.
Related material
Backgrounder: Turning Waste Heat into Electricity
Some constituents have asked me if it is actually possible – with today’s technology – to turn waste heat into electricity. It is not something they have heard of before.
Waste‑heat‑to‑power (WHP) does work today, at commercial scale, in multiple industries worldwide. Here are some examples.
✅ Real‑World, Operating Examples of Waste Heat → Electricity
1. Cement Industry – Turboden ORC Plants
Turboden has multiple Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) waste‑heat‑to‑power units installed at cement plants:
- Italcementi Cement Plant (Italy) – ORC unit generating electricity from kiln waste heat.
- CRH Cement Plant – ORC heat‑recovery power generation.
- Cementi Rossi Plant – Direct‑exchange ORC generating power from process heat.
These systems recover low‑grade industrial heat and generate up to 40 MW per turbine shaft. [turboden.com]
2. Steel Industry – ORI Martin (Italy) & Other Steel Plants
Turboden also has ORC power units installed in steel facilities:
- ORI Martin Steel Plant – Converts steel mill waste heat into electricity.
- Multiple additional installations in iron and steel production. [turboden.com]
Separately, a detailed case study (MDPI, Energies) demonstrates a 100 MWe electric arc furnace (EAF) integrating an ORC system that generated 752 kWe net electrical output, proving feasibility in steelmaking. [mdpi.com]
3. Waste‑to‑Energy Plant – Ertec (Japan)
SWEP and Daiichi Jitsugyo installed a 125 kWe ORC system at the Ertec waste‑incineration plant:
- Recovers heat from flue gas.
- Generates electricity for on‑site use or for sale. [swepgroup.com]
4. Oil & Gas Co‑Produced Geothermal – Swan Hills, Alberta
A major Canadian demonstration project integrates:
- A binary ORC power plant + a natural‑gas turbine.
- Generates 4–6 MW of electricity from geothermal heat and waste heat.
- Total plant capacity: 21 MW. [pangea.stanford.edu]
5. Industrial ORC Projects – Exergy and Others
Exergy reports numerous ORC waste‑heat‑to‑power units across sectors such as:
- Glass
- Chemicals
- Oil & gas
- Metals
These commercial ORC plants convert 90°C–400°C waste heat into electricity using radial outflow turbine technology. [exergy-orc.com]
6. Research‑Validated, Commercial Technologies
The literature confirms that ORC is a mature, commercially installed method for converting industrial waste heat into electricity:
- ORC is widely used for industrial waste heat, renewable energy, and combined heat‑and‑power recovery. [link.springer.com]
🔍 The Bottom Line
Anyone claiming waste heat cannot be used to generate electricity is incorrect. Today’s ORC systems are:
- Commercially deployed
- Operating across multiple industries
- Generating kilowatts to tens of megawatts of real electrical power
- Backed by proven case studies and deployments in cement, steel, waste‑to‑energy, and oil & gas sectors