It’s been a big week for the Clean Energy Frontier! It’s the beginning of May and we MAY have shared some exciting news yesterday.
Yesterday, we announced that the county councils of Bruce, Grey and Huron have each passed resolutions that endorse the Clean Energy Frontier program. We also saw some incredible progress on an initiative that the Clean Energy Frontier is working on with Plug’n Drive. And, this week also included some great announcements from the clean energy sector in support of numerous groups in communities across our region.
All of that is packed into today’s #3ThoughtThursday!
1. Bruce, Grey and Huron support a clean energy future
As mentioned above, we were excited to announce yesterday that all three of our local county councils have passed resolutions in support of the Clean Energy Frontier (read the full story here). These resolutions demonstrate the commitment from our local governments to building a net-zero future and capitalizing on our region’s advantages in clean energy to create new local opportunities.
Over the past few months, I have been participating in delegations to our county councils to share more about the Clean Energy Frontier program—and I have been amazed at each council’s commitment to working collectively with one another and with our local clean energy industry partners.
Creating a clean energy future and reaching net-zero carbon emissions will take a lot of hard work, innovation, collective action and the kind of leadership shown by local governments right here in Bruce, Grey and Huron—Canada’s Clean Energy Frontier.
2. Are we ready for an EV future?
In this blog, we’ve talked extensively about electric vehicles (EVs). That’s because an EV future is coming our way and we need to be ready.
It’s not just governments that are signaling this: across the board, vehicle manufacturers are making commitments to an all-EV production line.
A project that we have been working at the Clean Energy Frontier is to assess our region’s readiness for this future and gauge perceptions of our region when it comes to EV charging infrastructure.
To do so, we’ve partnered with Plug’n Drive, a non-profit organization that is committed to accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles across Canada. A key component of this work is a survey of EV owners to collect some very important information.
I’m very happy to see that the response rate to this survey has shattered our expectations. We are seeing an incredible amount of interest in this work and in our region.
We’re looking forward to sharing more with you as we continue this important work. Stay tuned…
3. Support for local community groups
In recognizing the challenges that numerous groups are facing across the region due to the Covid-19 pandemic, several clean energy organizations have stepped up to provide support. It was great to see the Power Workers’ Union provide $52,000 in support to 21 local organizations across the region (full story here).
Furthermore, earlier today Bruce Power announced that, together with more than 30 of their supply chain partners as part of the Bruce Power Charitable Events Sponsorship Program, 38 local food banks in the region will each receive $1,000.
It is incredible to see such an outpouring of support to the groups that are working so hard in these challenging times. Thank you to all of our local food banks, community organizations, women’s shelters, and others that continue to persevere through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chad Richards is the Director of the Clean Energy Frontier.