Through the Climate Leadership Plan, the Government of Alberta is taking steps to address the challenge of climate change. Getting it Right: A More Energy Efficient Alberta deals with one aspect of the government’s plan: the creation of Energy Efficiency Alberta, a not-for-profit Crown Agency that will support energy-efficient programs and services for homes and businesses.

The Newtonian Shift is a facilitated role-playing simulation that allows players to experience decades of energy transition in one day. It features dynamic and fast-paced experiential learning that puts participants in a diverse set of roles: energy producer, private customer, large energy consumer, First Nations, suppliers, grid operator, investors, and government.

WellWiki.org is a groundbreaking solution to the problem of information access and transparency related to data on oil and gas development. While in many cases some data on wells is publicly available, interested parties face an arcane and obscure process for accessing it which deters many from pursuing the information they need. WellWiki.org solves this problem, providing access to information in an easy-to-use format available to all, and has been successful across North America. Using WellWiki, Albertans can now access centralized information about any well in the province by searching well name, region, operating company name, municipality, license status, and other details.

WellWiki was recently expanded to include an advanced well search page – a functional search feature specifically designed with and for realtors. This new search interface uses the township system of meridian, range, township, and section to better align with the way realtors identify locations according to legal land descriptions.

Often, when a major industry or employer leaves a community, it tends to happen rather suddenly: recall when General Motors announced in November 2018 that it would close its Oshawa assembly plant by the end of 2019, putting nearly 3,000 people of out of work. In contrast, by announcing the potential closure of the Waterton Complex years in advance, Shell has given our community a unique opportunity to proactively plan for our future.

SASCI’s socio-economic impact assessment gives us fact-based evidence about the magnitude and scope of the potential impacts of the loss of this significant economic driver. Now, with that information in hand, SASCI will be turning its mind – as well as its expertise in community engagement, collaboration, capacity-building, and facilitation – to advancing diversification and resilience in the community. Our goal is to rally the community and put our collective energy, ingenuity, and entrepreneurship to work in shaping the economic future of our region.

With support from the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, the Pembina Institute has published the Landowner’s primer: what you need to know about unreclaimed oil and gas wells to help those who are most impacted. Designed as a complementary follow up to our 2016 publication, the Landowners’ Guide to Oil and Gas Development , this primer addresses questions and examines problems landowners face when dealing with operators who are under financial strain and still have unreclaimed oil and gas infrastructure on landowners’ property.

The Green Home Energy Toolkit provides tools, tests and information to help you understand your household energy use and help you identify some ways to save energy and money.

To sign out the toolkit, visit Edmonton Public Library and place one on hold.

Condominiums present a unique challenge when it comes to becoming more energy efficient. That’s why the Green Condo Guide was developed. It lays out ways condo boards or condo managers can make their buildings more energy efficient and save residents money. It also includes case studies of condos that have done upgrades and saved substantially.

The Biosphere Institute, in collaboration with the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, local REALTORS^® and the Town of Canmore, created this booklet to help new residents of the Bow Valley take part in meeting the goals of Town of Canmore’s Climate Action Plan. Learn more about the Climate Action Plan goals here.

The Alberta Narratives Project Report I and Report II are intended to provide practical guidance for climate and energy communicators about what language works well and – crucially – what language might pose an obstacle for communicating with any specific group.

Report I, Communicating Climate Change and Energy in Alberta is concerned with finding the language that works best across Albertan society by helping to find common ground across very different positions. This generates a core narrative that can be applied for general public engagement.

Report II, Communicating Climate Change and Energy with Different Audiences in Alberta offers tailored language that can be the basis of effective communications with each of the following groups: oil sands workers, conservatives, environmentalists, rural Albertans, business leaders, youth, new Canadians and people of faith.

These are guidebooks, not rulebooks. Skilled communications should always listen to their audiences, and experiment with new and fresh ways of speaking.

Poised to implement its own Property Assessed Clean Energy program (PACE), Alberta is in an ideal position to develop regulations that address the program’s main issues by learning from other jurisdictions’ experiences with PACE.

The goal of PACE is to help Albertans live greener by providing financing for clean energy upgrades to their properties. The funding would take the form of a loan repaid through an annual amount added to their property taxes.

A 2018 survey reported that 68 per cent of Albertans believe the provincial economy would benefit by transitioning to lower carbon energy sources. Nova Scotia’s experience has borne out PACE’s intrinsic value – homes with PACE-financed upgrades in that province reduced their total energy consumption by 33 per cent, thus saving approximately 10 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year for each home.

This paper examines the experiences with PACE in both the U.S. and Canada and offers a framework for creating an Alberta model. Still at square one with newly enacted legislation, the Alberta government must address through regulation such issues as the size of PACE loans, eligibility requirements for property owners, what types of environmental upgrades will be permitted and even the interest rate on loans funding the program.

The Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA) has partnered with the Pembina Institute to educate REALTORS^® and their clients on the value of energy efficiency. As a collaboration, the project will leverage AREA’s expertise on the needs of REALTORS^® and homeowners and the Pembina Institute’s expertise on clean energy, climate change and energy issues to transform how Alberta’s REALTORS^® understand and serve homeowners on this topic of increasing importance.

This fact sheet on attic insulation is the first part of a series of energy efficiency educational tools for Alberta’s REALTORS^® and their clients. Look for more resources in the near future here.

The Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA) has partnered with the Pembina Institute to educate REALTORS® and their clients on the value of energy efficiency. As a collaboration, the project will leverage AREA’s expertise on the needs of REALTORS® and homeowners and the Pembina Institute’s expertise on clean energy, climate change and energy issues to transform how Alberta’s REALTORS® understand and serve homeowners on this topic of increasing importance.

This fact sheet outlines current energy efficiency savings opportunities in Alberta, offering more information on how you can take advantage of energy efficiency.

Look for more of these collaborative resources in the future.

In order to meet the Government of Alberta’s goal of generating 30% of electricity from renewable power sources by 2030, 5,000 megawatts (MW) will need to be added to the province’s electrical grid, with a large portion of this capacity coming from wind. However, if this additional wind power is going to gain social acceptance, it must be done in a way that is environmentally and socially responsible, to address the concerns of Albertans and maximize the benefits associated with wind development.

This report is based on a series of case studies, looking at examples in Alberta, the U.S., and Europe, examining the best practices for wind development. While this report does not represent an exhaustive list of best practices, it does offer some guidance for how wind projects can be responsibly developed in Alberta. Based on the research, there are several practices wind developers and governments can adopt to encourage stakeholders to accept wind projects.

This paper grew from a demonstration project to prove the business case for energy efficiency upgrades to affordable housing properties in Calgary.

Communities – the places where we live, work and play – account for 60% of energy use in Canada, as well as over half of all greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). In other words, when we invest, plan and implement effectively for Smart Energy Communities, we can have a direct impact on addressing Canada’s energy and GHG challenges. A Community Energy Plan is a tool that helps communities define priorities around energy with a view to improving efficiency, cutting emissions and driving economic development.

The resources developed from the GTI Project are available here to help communities that currently have a Community Energy Plan navigate the challenges and get to implementation. They are also designed to help communities currently without a plan to design an integrated and principle-based Community Energy Plan that optimizes the benefits and is poised for implementation.

The Pathways 2 Sustainability Conference explored community resilience and sustainability as it relates to Food, Fuel, and Finance.

The Foothill’s land trust developed these materials to enhance a small land trust’s sustainability and operations. Templates developed include: (1) Policies and Procedures (2) Legal Defence Costs (3) Conservation Easement (4) Baseline Template (5) Baseline documentation. This resource is available as a hard copy in the AREF office.

This project was a pioneering community-based program designed to foster sustainable behaviour among the Town’s households. Combining door-to-door canvassing with the tools of Community-Based Social Marketing, the program enlisted residents to take action in one of four domains: water use, energy efficiency, waste reduction, and transportation impacts.

*FOR UPDATED VERSION CLICK HERE*

This study assessed the feasibility of incorporating a “green” building rating system into the MLS® System for resale homes in Alberta. 

These latest publications offer creative methods to help municipalities, businesses and organizations find the balance between planning futures and protecting the environment. The Sustainability Primer offers strategies to difficult planning challenges, while Planning for Sustainability: A Planners Guide details the framework to develop strategic and sustainable goals.

An energy investigation into the solar wall currently in use at King Tower. The investigation provides a good estimate of the energy output of the solar wall system (2008-2009).

The Green Communities Guide will be an essential tool to help elected officials, municipal planners, developers, real estate associations, stewardship groups and citizens develop strategies to conserve water, protect water quality, conserve valuable agricultural land, and protect critical open space and wildlife habitat. Through the guide, municipalities, stewardship groups, and developers will be informed about the innovative approaches other communities are taking to avoid, mitigate, or reduce the impacts of growth and development, to maintain the flow of ecological goods and services from their landscapes.

Grant #: 2007-17
Author: Land Stewardship Centre
Year: 2009
Format: full hard copy available at AREF’s office

Sustainability at home is a toolkit that helps homeowners understand how to apply sustainable development concepts to everyday household decisions The toolkit covers an explanation of sustainability; questions to ask while making household decisions; concrete and simple suggestions for every room in your house; renovations; resources for further information and idea and more.Designed for Alberta, this guide will be useful for REALTOR®S® to distribute to new and experienced homeowners alike.

This policy brief examined the most current and cutting edge research on sustainable cities. It examines the principles of smart growth as a sustainable approach to urban sprawl. 10 key actions are identified to move Calgary on the road to smart growth. This resource is available as a hard copy in the AREF office.

The Alberta Ecohome outlined four primary goals relating to the environmental performance of the home and the engagement of community groups, industry groups and the greater community. A. Design and construct an eco-demonstration home. B. Provide a platform for numerous collaborations and partnership in the community. C. Build the capacity of environmental non-government organizations (NGOs). D. Provide new opportunities to build awareness of energy efficiency and environmental options for new homebuyers and the community.

Grant #: 2004-22
Author: Alberta Ecotrust Foundation
Year: 2006
Format: hard copy