According to a recent C.D. Howe Institute study, solar thermal hot water and solar thermal air technologies, simply speaking, are the most cost-effective investment in renewable energies in Canada, and the most effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions per dollar spent.
The ecoENERGY program support leveraged this advantage and proved to be a successful way of meeting environmental objectives while providing economic value for Canadian taxpayer dollars. For example, the retrofit energy program invested about $2.2 million since it began in 2007, and yet it was able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 3,000 tonnes a year. When we do the calculations, I think we would find that's the best return on investment for carbon dioxide reduction of any of the programs. With an expected lifespan of at least 20 years for solar hot water programs, this comes to a total investment value of about $40 a tonne. When we compare that with other technologies, I think we'll find this produces the best return on investment—and it's really good for Canada.
The ecoENERGY program was also an effective method for job creation. It catalyzed investment in Canadian manufacturing, employing local tradespeople and engineers. Systems have been installed locally across Canada in family households and communities, and also in many businesses and industries. The market has been growing at about 25% to 50% for the past five years. My little company, EnerWorks, has grown over 13 times in that timeframe, creating jobs in Ontario but also across Canada for insulation, R and D, and engineering. It's a very exciting time for us. As well, we've been taking market share from U.S. competitors and from the big European players in this space as well.
The Electricity Sector Council's labour force survey of the Canadian solar industry indicates that job growth is expected to be about 100% per year after 2011. Of course, those calculations were done with the assumption that there would be an ecoENERGY-like program in place. In addition to these benefits, the solar industry in Canada is also beginning to become a more important member of the global trading community, as many of our revenues are now coming from exports outside of Canada.
Under the ecoENERGY program, funds were used to invest in the CSA certification of solar products. This is an extremely important development, and Canada was actually a leader in the field of developing proper safety and performance certification in solar energy. This process has helped to certify approximately 10 companies' products for the marketplace.
With that said, greater investments need to be made to streamline the certification process. This is an area where the federal government can really help. Competition is being reduced at the moment simply because many of the people who want to bring new products into the marketplace can't get their products certified and evaluated. This means that you can develop a product and then wait for a year and a half before you can get it into the market, and that's not good for innovation.
The success of the ecoENERGY programs has also been reinforced by the efforts of almost every Canadian province and territory to develop complementary programs to leverage the administrative strengths of Natural Resources Canada and ensure that energy audits are a part of the process. For example, the ecoENERGY retrofit program to date has provided support to thousands of homes in communities across Canada. So it's more than just about producing solar energy; it's about energy efficiency, lowering the monthly energy costs, reducing carbon dioxide, and creating jobs in Canada.
The ecoENERGY programs have been very effective in reducing carbon dioxide emissions as well. The foundation of the solar industry is solid, as all solar technologies continue to grow at a pace of well over—