Clean tech business and education hub planned for Georgetown, P.E.I. government announces

The government of P.E.I. is planning to build what it is calling a Clean Tech Park in Georgetown, P.E.I.

The $25-million park will be built in phases, and become a hub for business and education and would include a 44,000 square foot Clean Tech Learning and Innovation Centre as well as a 25 hectare business park.

Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Action Steven Myers said clean tech can refer to many different things.

"It could be renewable energy, could be storage for renewable energy, it could be a solution for agriculture to help us meet our carbon free goals," he said.

"I think that is the importance of the announcement today is we're not just building industry, we are building an opportunity to be innovative."

Myers said the new Clean Tech Park will be the first of its kind in Canada.

And he said he hopes other provinces will look to P.E.I. for ideas on how to build clean tech initiatives of their own. 

Post-secondary programs offered

The park will also include an academy that will offer new programs developed by UPEI and Holland College.

Sandy MacDonald, president of Holland College, said the post-secondary school has been a "proud member" of the Georgetown community for 25 years.

"We are thrilled to work alongside [the] government, and UPEI to ensure students have ample opportunities to help build what's next," MacDonald said. 

The college will offer a certificate in clean-tech leadership starting in the fall of 2023.

Greg Keefe, president of the University of Prince Edward Island, said the tech park provides a career development opportunity for students.

"They will get the chance to work within the private sector or in entrepreneurial settings," he said. "These types of work placements are so valuable."

Overall, the park is an important step for P.E.I. to move toward net zero, Keefe said.

UPEI will offer a master's degree in clean-tech leadership starting in 2024, which is also when the new Learning and Innovation Centre is expected to open.

"It's very important for the province in general to be moving towards clean technology and net zero. And it really leverages what we have here at UPEI in our various faculties."

The business park will also be the first tax-free Clean Tech development zone in the province as promised in the Throne Speech, but the environment minister says he thinks businesses will come to Georgetown for other reasons.

"Based on what I've been hearing so far, there's a lot of excitement out there to take part in what we're doing," Myers said.  

"From an industry perspective, a lot of them have ideas, a lot of them have funding, and they're looking for a place where where they can be creative with other partners."