The Pembina Institute works with governments, industry, communities and other non-governmental organizations to identify, research and assess policies to help promote low-impact renewable energy at the provincial level.

We work through collaborative partnerships as well as independently to provide well-researched, practical policy recommendations to help bring the benefits of renewable energy to Canadians. The Pembina Institute is currently working on policy issues in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.

Alberta

Alberta has significant renewable energy potential – including wind, bioenergy, geothermal and hydro – but the impacts of conventional energy must also be addressed. Within Alberta, Pembina aims to minimize the impacts of the oil and gas industry and support the implementation of strong provincial policies designed to support renewable energy and energy efficiency deployment in the province.

Pembina is a founding member of the Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA), a multi-stakeholder partnership composed of representatives selected by industry, government and non-governmental organizations, with a mandate to assist in managing air quality issues in Alberta. Pembina serves on both the Energy Efficiency and Conservation and the Renewables and Alternatives project teams within CASA.

Pembina is also active in building connections between various energy stakeholders within the province to facilitate the implementation of renewable energy and energy efficiency. This includes driving the creation of the new Alberta Energy Efficiency Alliance.

Alberta Policy Initiatives Contact

British Columbia

The Pembina Institute is working to ensure British Columbians are able to maximize their use of renewable energy and energy efficiency in meeting the province’s energy needs today and in the future.

Exploring Policy Options

Pembina is helping government, industry and stakeholders explore energy policy options and the implications of energy choices through workshops, policy assessments and the development of evaluation tools.

We provide assistance in analyzing the potential social and environmental liabilities and benefits of different resource options. Examples of this work include assessments of energy options completed for BC Hydro and the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources.

Working in partnership with other environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) in British Columbia, Pembina has also assessed the implications and effectiveness of the Province’s energy plan, with a particular focus on the electricity sector and the Province’s energy efficiency strategy. This work includes the following:

1. an assessment of the economic and environmental implications of achieving a set of, now adopted, targets for energy efficiency in new and existing buildings; and
2. the development of an evaluation framework to assess the effectiveness of the initiatives designed to help the Province achieve its energy efficiency targets for new and existing buildings.

In 2006, Pembina co-hosted a renewable energy/energy efficiency workshop with Pollution Probe, BC Sustainable Energy Association and CanREA. The workshop, “Maximizing Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in British Columbia,” built off earlier workshops in Nova Scotia and Ontario, and brought together government, non-governmental organizations, utilities and industry to discuss how British Columbia could maximize its potential for renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Pembina and Pollution Probe have also compiled a series of recommendations for the provincial government aimed at maximizing British Columbia’s energy efficiency and renewable energy potential. The report, "Maximizing Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in British Columbia," compares planned efficiency actions with forecast potential, provides information on the current status of renewable technologies in the province and provides some examples of how different groups and jurisdictions have been working to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Contributing to Energy Planning

Pembina participates in multi-stakeholder processes, such as BC Hydro’s 2005 integrated electricity planning process, to provide input on how renewable energy combined with energy efficiency strategies can deliver clean, reliable energy to British Columbians.

 

BC Policy Initiatives Contact

Ontario

Within Ontario, the Pembina Institute is:

• conducting an ongoing assessment of the Government of Ontario’s electricity policies;
• tracking its progress in implementing low-impact renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions; and
• engaging policy makers and the public in critical discussions on the future of Ontario’s energy systems.

Pembina’s report, Power for the Future, provided the first comprehensive assessment in more than a decade of low-impact renewable energy potential in Ontario. The 2004 report identified a potential for 9600 megawatts (MW) of wind, biomass and small-scale hydro generating capacity to be in place by 2018.

Ontario’s limited progress in implementing energy efficiency measures and renewable energy production was noted in Pembina’s 2005 report, Towards a Sustainable Electricity System for Ontario? A Provincial Progress Report. Pembina identified some progress on renewable energy – particularly wind power – but the province remains below its potential capacity for renewable energy.

In 2006, the Pembina Institute produced a major commentary on the Ontario Power Authority's December 2005 Supply Mix Advice Report, which recommended a major expansion of nuclear power in Ontario. Among other things, Pembina concluded that the Ontario Power Authority had underestimated the potential contributions of low-impact renewable energy sources in meeting the province’s electricity needs. Our 2006 report, A Quick Start Energy Efficiency Strategy for Ontario, reinforced this conclusion by drawing on experiences in California, Vermont and New York and applying them to Ontario to demonstrate how the province could better manage energy demand.

In 2007 Pembina partnered with WWF Canada on the major 2-part study Renewable is Doable. The study confirms that smart, targeted investments in a diverse array of energy efficiency and renewable energy power systems over the next twenty years will achieve major cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate the closure of highly polluting coal plants, and avoid the need for new nuclear investments.

Pembina authored one of the two background reports for the study Analysis of Resource Potential and Scenario Assumptions

The Pembina Institute also gives numerous presentations on electricity, energy efficiency and renewable energy issues in Ontario and has been quoted extensively in leading print and electronic media in Ontario on electricity and renewable energy issues in the province.

Ontario Policy Initiatives Contact