The Missing Link in the Housing Crisis? Clean Energy

by Dan Roscoe, CEO of Roswall

Every conversation about the housing crisis seems to circle the same drain: not enough units, not enough land, not enough money. The solution, it seems, is all around us.

From policy debates to op-eds to public consultation sessions, the solutions tend to orbit the same gravitational pull — zoning reform, faster permitting, and bigger subsidies. And while all of these are necessary, they may not be sufficient.

Because there’s something else driving unaffordability. It’s less visible, but just as foundational. It’s embedded in the bills renters struggle to pay, the margins landlords can’t close, and the infrastructure governments can’t quite make sustainable.

That missing link is clean, affordable energy.

Around the world, clean energy isn’t just powering homes — it’s reimagining how we design, finance, and scale affordable housing. From small-town Nova Scotia to fast-growing cities in Southeast Asia, renewable electricity is doing more than cutting emissions. It’s helping solve energy poverty and the global housing crisis in ways that policy alone can’t.

A Familiar Crisis, An Unfamiliar Solution

We talk about housing in the language of supply and demand. How many units are being built. Where we can densify. What levels of rent qualify as affordable.

But what’s often left out is energy — the second-largest monthly expense for many low- and middle-income households. We don’t often ask how much it costs to power these homes, or whether the energy systems supporting them are making housing more, or less, sustainable.

This is starting to change. One of the most promising examples in Canada is right here in Nova Scotia: Energize Bridgewater.

This nationally recognized initiative — and former Roswall client, now proudly a Renewall customer — is showing what’s possible when a municipality treats clean energy as core infrastructure, not a side issue. It’s a living case study in how clean energy can reduce household costs, unlock housing investment, and build long-term resilience — all at once.

And Bridgewater is not alone.

Energy as a Hidden Housing Cost

In older homes across Canada, utility bills are rising faster than rent. That’s particularly true in rural and coastal communities, where housing stock is aging, insulation is poor, and grids are still powered by fossil fuels.

For low-income renters, these energy burdens can be destabilizing. Even when rent is controlled, a cold snap or price spike can make staying in place unaffordable. For housing providers, high and unpredictable energy costs make it harder to maintain buildings and plan long-term capital upgrades.

When homes are powered by renewables, and built or retrofitted to use energy more efficiently, monthly costs go down and predictability goes up. More importantly, clean energy breaks the link between affordability and volatility. It creates a foundation that is stable, sustainable, and scalable.

Four Models, Four Unlocks: How Clean Energy Supports Affordable Housing

Across the world, governments and developers are using clean energy in different ways depending on their context, constraints, and climate. But in each case, the integration of energy and housing is unlocking outcomes that would be difficult to achieve through policy alone.

Model 1: Nova Scotia – Clean Energy as a Community Infrastructure Solution

Model: Energize Bridgewater

Innovation: Municipal-scale energy affordability through home upgrades, low-interest financing, transit access, and shared energy data.

Unlock: Shows how treating energy as infrastructure can reduce costs and enable more resilient, affordable housing.

In Bridgewater, energy equity is the starting point for broader affordability. The town’s Energize program combines deep home retrofits, low-interest financing, electric mobility options, and a centralized community energy information system.

It builds capacity, improves health outcomes, and supports long-term cost stability for both residents and the municipality. It’s a rare example of a clean energy initiative that is both deeply technical and deeply human. And it shows what happens when local governments treat energy as a shared, civic good, not just a commodity.

Model 2: United States – Clean Energy as a Policy Tool

Model: HUD Renew300, Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

Innovation: Public policy and tax credits enable solar for low-income residents.

Unlock: Cuts household energy costs and aligns with climate targets.

In the U.S., federal programs like Renew300 and the IRA have enabled thousands of affordable housing units to access clean energy through solar credits, weatherization funding, and energy efficiency standards. These policies are creating pathways for public and nonprofit housing to reduce costs and emissions simultaneously.

However, as with any federal policy environment, results vary by region and administration. The biggest risk isn’t technical — it’s political continuity.

Model 3: Germany – Clean Energy as a Design Ethic

Model: Solar Settlement at Schlierberg

Innovation: Energy-positive homes built with renewables as standard.

Unlock: Self-sufficient, affordable living through architectural integration.

In Freiburg, the Solar Settlement is a small community that packs a big punch. Its 59 homes were designed to produce more energy than they consume, thanks to rooftop solar, passive house design, and shared infrastructure.

It’s not a retrofit project. It’s a blueprint for how to build new communities where affordability and sustainability reinforce one another, instead of being treated as trade-offs.

Model 4: Indonesia – Clean Energy as Climate Resilience

Model: Green and Resilient Homes Initiative

Innovation: Clean energy used alongside efficiency and disaster-ready design.

Unlock: Adapts vulnerable housing to future climate and economic shocks.

In Indonesia, energy insecurity overlaps with physical climate risk. Programs focused on climate-resilient affordable housing are integrating solar panels, water-saving technologies, and low-carbon materials, all designed to make homes safer and more self-sufficient during extreme events.

Here, clean energy is not just about savings. It’s about survivability.

The Architecture of Innovation: What These Models Have in Common

These four approaches vary widely in geography and design, but they share a set of core principles:

Blended finance: Mixing public funds with private investment to lower risk and accelerate deployment.

Integrated planning: Linking energy, housing, and social equity in a single framework.

Scalability by design: Structuring programs to be replicable across communities and adaptable to local needs.

Above all, these models treat energy as infrastructure, as essential to affordability and equity as water, transit, or land use.

What Canada (and Others) Can Learn

These lessons are not just global curiosities, they are directly relevant to Canada’s housing goals. Public, Indigenous, and cooperative housing sectors could all benefit from integrating clean energy into their funding models, maintenance strategies, and long-term planning.

Community solar programs, energy-as-a-service offerings, and provincial-level Clean Utilities pilots are all viable next steps. But what’s needed first is a mindset shift. Housing and energy policy must converge if we want housing that lasts and if we want affordability that scales.

Scaling Bridgewater’s Lessons: A Nova Scotia-Wide Opportunity

Bridgewater has proven what’s possible in a small, determined town. The next step is to scale those lessons across the province.

Nova Scotia is facing a dual challenge: rising housing costs and a grid that, while in the process of decarbonization, is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels. But we also have a unique advantage — an abundance of wind energy, a growing clean tech workforce, and public support for ambitious climate action.

By applying a service-based energy model, where nonprofits and co-ops can access clean power through long-term agreements without upfront costs, we can stabilize operating budgets and make affordable housing truly affordable to operate.

With blended finance, local renewable generation, and a focus on community ownership, this model could work in Mi’kmaq communities, rural towns, and multi-unit housing developments alike.

The conditions are already in place. The opportunity is here.

Affordability Starts with Systems Thinking

If we want affordable housing that lasts, we can’t just build more buildings. We have to build smarter systems. Clean energy is more than a climate solution. It’s a foundation for affordability. A lever for equity. A way to make every dollar — and every home — go further.

In the effort to solve the housing crisis, energy is the starting point.

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Dan Roscoe is the CEO of Roswall Development, a renewable energy developer, and President of Renewall Energy, a renewable energy provider, both based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His work is focused on building the infrastructure for a cleaner, smarter energy future across Canada and beyond.