$83M will help University of Victoria design community-based climate solutions

A research initiative from the University of Victoria has won $83.6 million dollars to help it transition communities to clean energy. 

The project, called Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET), was one of 33 competing for a federal research grant called the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.

A total of 11 post-secondary institutions won grants.

ACET is led by UVic, but involves the work of about 40 partners — including the University of British Columbia, Royal Roads University, non-profits and First Nations.

Lisa Kalynchuk, the school's vice-president of research and innovation, said the goal is to help communities move from the idea of transitioning to clean energy, to actually doing it. 

"There are a lot of communities who may agree with [ambitious government] targets, but they're not quite sure how to get there," said Kalynchuk. 

To do so, ACET is partnering with communities ranging from small and remote to mid-sized and urban.

Researchers work with the communities to figure out what they need to do to successfully transition to net-zero carbon emissions, and help form the partnerships they need to make that happen. 

'Community is at the centre of the research'

Curran Crawford, a professor of mechanical engineering with a focus on renewable energy, is leading ACET.

"Community is at the centre of the research," he said, "to help us define our detailed research questions with specific projects and things we're going to work on."

Individual research projects will be designed for communities, depending on what they need — ranging from technology to policy, to learning about the social impact of particular clean energy options. 

There are several communities already involved in A.C.E.T. projects, including on Haida Gwaii where the Haida Nation is working to transition away from diesel fuel, and the city of Victoria which is working out where best to put fast EV chargers to support people in high density housing, and how to finance them. 

The project will take on more communities over the seven years of the grant funding.

The hope is that at the end of the project, there will be a variety of proven solutions that communities across Canada will be able to take on for their own clean energy solutions.