Implementation Projects

Retrofit Assist is a concierge service, delivered in partnership with local governments to supports residents with their home energy upgrades – from interest through to installation.

Peaks To Prairies is a community-driven initiative to support EV travel to and within Southern Alberta. The project will install 20 fast charging/Level 2 stations throughout the region as well as engage in a broad outreach and education campaign.
The objectives and goals of the project are to increase electric vehicle adoption, address GHG emissions related to the transportation sector, and to facilitate regional travel by electric vehicle. In addition, Peaks To Prairies is supporting the renewable energy sector in the region by powering the stations with 100% renewable energy through renewable energy certificates sourced from southern Alberta projects (solar, wind or hydro). CEA was the delivery and facilitating agent for Peaks to Prairies, working with founding partners to design the network and implement it in a way that reflected the values of the local communities.

Accelerate Kootenays was Canada’s first community driven strategy to build a clean transportation network, and was catalyst for region EV charging infrastructure strategies in other jurisdictions. CEA facilitated the project from early feasibility, mapping and grant-writing through to managing installations, media releases and celebrations.

The Mid Island EV Network is a community-driven, collaborative program building a Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charging network across Central Vancouver Island, BC. It is a multi-year initiative including nine Owners, the Province of BC and the Government of Canada. The project, facilitated by the Community Energy Association, will create a Level 2 EVSE charging station network that enhances existing connectivity across Mid-island.

We planned and facilitated a series of six focus groups for the City of Kelowna to support draft strategies for electric vehicle support and home energy retrofits.

Community Energy Association is now the proud owner of Canada’s largest Mobile Electric Battery, the Voltstack, and we are excited to share this resource with local communities and community partners in and around the East Kootenays.

With funding from the Real Estate Foundation of BC and BullItt Foundation, CEA is supporting local governments research and design a new business model that can transform the electric air source heat pump market. Currently, households interested in installing an ASHP system are largely left on their own to identify a qualified installer, ensure a quality unit and system design, access relevant information and resources, locate available incentives, and arrange financing. This project seeks to address the market confusion and information gaps this by prototyping a ‘One Stop Shop’ (i.e. Concierge) business model with a single interface for homeowners, offering both education and implementation services.

Through the RDEK Energy Manager position, CEA is leading the East Kootenay Organics Infrastructure Program, a collaboration with municipal partners throughout the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK). The aim of the program is to recover a significant portion of compostable organic resources in the East Kootenay via optimized, scalable, aerated windrow composting at facilities located in each of three sub-regions: Columbia Valley, Central Sub-Region and the Elk Valley.

CEA staff managed and developed some of the early Home Energy Retrofit Campaigns in BC. The Rossland Energy Diet of 2011 was one of the province’s campaign leaders, followed by the Nelson EcoSave program in 2012. Nelson EcoSave is a long-term campaign, recently expanding into the entire Regional District of Central Kootenay as "REEP" – Regional Energy Efficiency Program. In 2019 CEA began managing the New Home component of REEP to encourage a regional approach to adopting the BC Energy Step Code.  The interior “Energy Diets” of 2013, managed by CEA staff, were Kootenay Energy Diet; Okanagan Energy Diet and the East Kootenay Energy Diet. Kootenay Energy Diet was funded by Fortis BC, Natural Resources Canada, Columbia Basin Trust and LiveSmart BC, with partnership of the participating local governments and community Credit Unions. The East Kootenay Energy Diet included partnership with BC Hydro. See Full Details for a summary of the early Home Energy Retrofit campaigns which provides some useful background information on moving forward on “deep dive” retrofit campaigns.

Charge North is a community-driven project initiated by seed funding from six regional districts. It is an EV charging network that includes over 40 communities, and 306,600 square kms as well as outreach and awareness components. Charge North is made possible by extensive collaboration between over 40 local governments and CEA as the project facilitator. General project oversight is provided by an Advisory Committee comprised of representatives from each of the six regional districts and Northern BC Tourism Association.