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CEA has been busy with workshops on renewable energy, case studies on electric work trucks, engaging contractors on high performance building, and listening to local government staff on their policy priorities. And this work continues in May with many upcoming opportunities to join in.
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CEA NEWS - Experiences of private and public fleets with electrification
- CEA members eye sustained provincial support for local climate action
- A conversation on renewable energy in northeast BC
- Advancing a climate lens in municipal decision-making in Alberta
- Promoting Retrofit Assist in Invermere for Earth Day
RESOURCES - Engaging the hotel industry on decarbonization
- Multifamily buildings and EV charging
SPOTLIGHT VIDEO - College of the Rockies introduced electric vehicle technician training
UPCOMING EVENTS - BC E-Mobility Peer Network Quarterly Meeting: EV Adoption and Policy
- Monitoring and Evaluation for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience
- Integrated Design Charette: Real Data, Real Homes
- Energy Efficiency Showcase: Understanding the real options in Northern BC
- Renewable Energy: A Power-ful Opportunity
- The Power of Natural Assets
| | | | | | | | | | CEA members eye sustained provincial support for local climate action
The future of the BC Local Government Climate Action Program (LGCAP) was the focus of a meeting that took place last week between CEA members and CEA's CEO Megan Lohmann. The dialogue provided an opportunity to discuss the significance of LGCAP in member communities and to consider how CEA and members might further engage with the Province regarding LGCAP's future. Since it was established in 2022, LGCAP has distributed just over $120 million to local governments and Modern Treaty Nations in support of local capacity and infrastructure related to climate and resiliency. This is the last year of committed funding.
Member support enables CEA to direct efforts toward LGCAP engagement in a manner that is time sensitive and nimble. This includes compiling examples of LGCAP projects from around BC, summarizing the program's unique and significant impact in various regions, and meetings with government officials. Note that CEA can also assist communities with projects and with LGCAP reporting, which is due July 31, 2026.
| | | | CEA members are an effective community of practitioners advancing local climate action, providing critical capacity to CEA to support and facilitate the group. Not a member already? Join us!
| | | | | | Electrifying fleets: new case studies
What’s working well, what has been challenging, and what are the cost savings? These are the questions fleet managers answer in a series of new case studies published by CEA that share the experiences of medium- and heavy-duty fleets that are transitioning to electric vehicles. Examples include a private sector fleet in Langley and the City of Kelowna’s landfill services (pictured above).
| | | | Fleet Forward is part of CEA’s efforts to help local governments understand their options to decarbonize local transportation systems. CEA’s services include fleet electrification planning, demand response, and vehicle-to-grid technologies, all of which can be funded through BC Hydro’s EV Ready fleet plan rebate.
Email info@communityenergy.ca
| | | | | | A conversation on renewable energy in northeast BC
The Northeast is a powerhouse for British Columbia, providing electricity from hydro, wind, and solar projects. With many new projects in the region proposed through BC Hydro’s recent calls for power, CEA recently convened a conversation about Renewable Energy in the Peace.
Presented in partnership with Wind & Solar BC and Relay Education, the April 20 event brought together participants from local governments, education, First Nations, the renewable energy industry, and local business. They gathered at the Saulteau First Nations Cultural Centre for dialogue, hands-on education about how wind turbines and solar panels actually work, and a tour of the Vestas wind turbine operations and maintenance facility in Chetwynd.
View a summary of the discussion and hands-on learning.
| | | | | | | | Advancing a climate lens in municipal decision-making in Alberta
Across Alberta, increasingly severe climate hazards are straining municipal infrastructure and services. Fortunately, local governments can influence climate outcomes through everyday decisions shaping both risk exposure and solutions. For elected officials, the question is no longer whether climate change matters, but how can climate be considered across all government responsibilities?
Throuh Alberta Climate Leaders, CEA and the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre have invited Anabela Bonada to provide some of the answers. Dr. Bonada leads applied research at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, a University of Waterloo applied research centre working with homeowners, communities, governments and businesses to identify and reduce the impacts of extreme weather and climate change. Dr. Bonada specializes in translating complex climate science into practical tools and guidance.
A recent example of this work is the an assessment of community-level wildfire preparedness in Alberta. The Alberta FireSmart™ Community Scorecard helps communities assess wildfire preparedness and identify areas for improvement. The scorecard is an example of not treating a climate risk as a technical issue, instead showing how wildfire risk impacts municipal responsibilities for infrastructure investment, emergency management, finances, and long‑term community well‑being.
| | | | Alberta elected officials can further explore examples of embedding a climate lens in council decision-making (and using Alberta-specific climate data), at Thursday's meeting of the Alberta Climate Leaders Elected Officials Peer Network (follow the link to join).
| | | | | | | | | | Engaging the hotel industry on decarbonization
Canada’s $100 billion tourism industry relies on incredible wild spaces and outdoor recreation. With climate change threatening many of these places, hotels are motivated to invest in decarbonization.
And municipalities can help hotel operators in their efforts and coordinate the actions of individual properties into a community-wide effort. “A strength of local government is the ability to collaborate and share learnings,” says Maria Thorlakson from the Resort Municipality of Whistler.
She helped lead an effort to engage Whistler’s hotel industry on decarbonization. Over the course of the program (three-years running), Whistler’s hotels have deepened their commitments, from simply learning about decarbonization to undertaking feasibility studies and forming knowledge-sharing networks of engineers and maintenance staff.
Earlier this year, Whistler also supported the development of CEA’s short guide Engaging the Hotel Industry on Decarbonization.
“We heard other local governments want to engage their hotel sector and we felt there was an opportunity to share our work,” said Maria. “The guide outlines a replicable engagement process and lessons learned, so other local governments can leverage our experience.”
| | | | | | | | Resource Roundup: How to prepare multi-unit buildings for EVs
Electric vehicles sales in BC jumped 36% in February after the federal government reinstated its EV rebate, according to data released by Statistics Canada. Under BC’s new provincial targets announced in April, 75% of new vehicles sold in BC will need to be zero-emission by 2035.
This will lead to a greater need for EV chargers in multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) however this is often logistically more difficult than at a single-family house. Here are some recommended resources to help.
Tools for strata councils or building managers
Plugin BC has recently published A Practical Guide to Installing Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers in Your Multifamily Building.
Tools for local governments
CEA’s Power to Act is a website guiding local governments through underutilized regulatory powers that can be used to advance electrification in the community. Regulatory tools include covenants, phased development agreements, and amenity zoning.
CEA’s MURB charging policy companion will help local governments work with multi-unit residential building owners, strata councils, co-op boards, and other property managers to plan charging amenities.
A roadmap for new building legislation
EV-readiness in new buildings avoids costly retrofits later. CEA worked with Clean Energy Canada to create a clear, step-by-step path to developing and implementing a province-wide 100% EV-readiness requirement in BC.
| | | | | | | | | | From the archive: College of the Rockies introduces electric vehicle technician training
The provincially-supported EV Maintenance Training program offers Red Seal automotive technicians the skills needed to diagnose, maintain, and repair EVs.
The program started at the BCIT School of Transportation and later expanded to Camosun College, Okanagan College, College of New Caledonia, Vancouver Island University, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and College of the Rockies.
CEA produced this video when College of the Rockies introduced their program. Since then, BC's electric vehicle numbers have boomed from 80,000 to nearly 230,000. There is remains a need for governments and post-secondary education institutions to meet the growing market for electric vehicle technicians.
| | | | | | | | BC E-Mobility Peer Network Quarterly Meeting: EV Adoption and Policy
Communities are working to accelerate EV adoption and charging infrastructure while also navigating ongoing changes at the provincial and federal levels. This meeting will be an opportunity to make sense of these changes together and explore practical ways to move forward.
📅 Tuesday, May 12, 2026 ⏰ 10 a.m.–Noon
CEA facilitates a number of peer networks that bring together local practitioners in various regions, on different topics. To attend this meeting, learn more about the Peer Networks and sign up.
| | | | Monitoring and Evaluation for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience
Curious how to track progress on climate adaptation? This session will explore practical approaches to monitoring, evaluation, and learning, with a focus on making the work manageable and useful in real-world contexts. Learn how to define success, choose meaningful indicators, and connect planning to measurement.
Guest speaker: Mia Chung – Research Associate, ISET International
📅 Wednesday, May 13, 2026 ⏰ Noon PT / 1 p.m. MT
📍 Register on Zoom
| | | | Integrated Design Charette: Real Data, Real Homes
Discover how Integrated Design Planning supports collaboration, cost savings, and reliable results in new build and retrofit projects. Participants will use assessment data from real homes to map out the priority actions, sequence and costs of healthy home energy retrofits using an envelope-first and house-as-a-system approach. This event will combine building science theory with practical application to real-world scenarios from homes in northwest BC.
📅 Tuesday, May 19, 2026 ⏰ 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
📍 Hidden Acres Farm & Treehouse Resort, Terrace, BC
| | | | Energy Efficiency Showcase: Understanding the real options in Northern BC
Learn how buildings in the North can use less energy, cost less to build and operate, last longer, look better, and respond to climate change – all by showcasing existing local projects.
Funding support provided by BC Hydro. This event was initiated by the Community Energy Association through its Northern BC Climate Action Network (NorthCAN) and Building a Legacy program.
📅 Friday, May 22, 2026 ⏰ 10:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
📍 College of New Caledonia, Prince George, BC
| | | | Renewable Energy: A Power-ful Opportunity
BC Hydro’s recent calls for power will result in more renewable energy projects all over BC. What’s in it for communities? What’s already operating and what’s planned? How can working together and raising awareness of renewable energy bring more local benefits?
| | Renewable Energy on Vancouver Island 📅 June 3, 2026 ⏰ 1–3 p.m.
📍 Nanaimo in conjunction with the Indigenous Resource Opportunities Conference
| | Renewable Energy in the Southern Interior 📅 June 10, 2026 ⏰ 10 a.m–Noon
📍 Kelowna, in conjunction with the Keeping it Rural conference | | | | The Power of Natural Assets
Hear from the Natural Assets Initiative about the power of natural assets. This session will provide an overview of natural asset management, how it can be applied by local governments, and its intersections with climate risk and adaptation.
Guest speaker: Roy Brooke – Executive Director, Natural Assets Initiative
📅 Wednesday, June 10, 2026 ⏰ Noon PT / 1 p.m. MT
📍 Register on Zoom
| | | | Our Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation
The Community Energy Association commits to the principles of Truth and Reconciliation. As an organization, we support the Calls to Action released by the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
and recognize the importance of the self determination of Indigenous Peoples as articulated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. | | Thank you for subscribing to the CEA Newsletter, our monthly update on local climate and energy initiatives connected to the Community Energy Association. No longer interested? You can easily unsubscribe or update your preferences | | | | | |
