The non-profit organization I work for, Arctic Energy Alliance, undertook a process in 2007-08 that resulted in the creation of Community Energy Plans for all (most) of the 33 communities in the Northwest Territories http://aea.nt.ca/communities .
We are in the process of sorting out details with the Government of the NWT to see if we can undertake a process for AEA to help NWT communities update their CEP’s. Hopefully, the new tools & approaches we cover in this course/certificate can help guide the efforts we are able to facilitate up here.
BENEFITS: Updating the CEP’s and re-engaging the communities in this process will be very important for the benefits of the CEP process to be realized. Unfortunately, the momentum that built up around the time the CEP’s were completed has withered (especially for some of the CEP’s created with a less detailed, template format, while others involved a more dedicated process with the help of a consultant or AEA employee, these were more detailed), so there wasn’t a strong “buy-in” or motivation to continue with the process if new municipal leaders and Band Office staff.
Commitment to the process with an appreciation for the benefits of the CEP and dedicated effort to following up recommendations, etc. will be very important for CEP benefits to be realized.
