On Thursday, October 10, The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN), the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, was joined by Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, to make a clean energy announcement at University of Toronto’s St. George Campus.
Minister Wilkinson announced up to $500 million in funding for the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways program (SREPs) Utility Support Stream, which supports clean electricity infrastructure — such as renewable energy technologies, energy storage and grid modernization technologies — that strengthen the electricity grid. Launched in 2021, SREPs works with provinces, territories and Indigenous Peoples to support critical regional priority projects that reduce dependence on fossil fuel generation and create pathways for a stronger electricity grid system. The Minister also took the opportunity to announce the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s Energy and Climate Strategies Project to support local communities.
In his remarks, Dean Christopher Yip, Dean of Faculty of Applied Sciences and Engineering renewed the University of Toronto’s commitment to lead in the energy transition and thanked the Minister for the generous contribution of $5M from NRCAN which was matched by an additional $5M from the Federal Development Agency of Southern Ontario to create first of its kind the Grid Modernization Centre led by Climate Positive Energy (CPE). The Centre that convenes over 50 partners will serve as a hub to provide utilities, electricity regulators, municipalities, and small- and medium-sized enterprises with the state-of-the-art equipment and expertise needed to test, develop, and commercialize a range of green technologies (e.g., electric vehicle charging stations, battery energy storage systems, and renewable energy sources) before they are integrated with the grid.
Following the announcement, Minister Wilkinson and MP Dabrusin were joined by professor Ali Hooshyar and Shatha Qaqish-Clavering (Executive Director of CPE) for a tour of the Centre for Applied Power Electronics (CAPE), which focuses on the modernization of legacy electric power grids and provides state-of-the-art infrastructure to facilitate university-industry collaborative research projects.
“By making historic investments in clean electricity, this government is positioning Canadians to take advantage of the economic opportunities presented by the clean economy, now and into the future. The Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways program is already providing Canadian communities across the country with affordable and clean power while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I am pleased to celebrate the ongoing successes of this program and to announce the opening of the Utility Support Stream as of today. This next step will allow us to support even more projects as we work with provinces, territories, Indigenous governments and non-governmental partners as we work toward our common goal of an energy-efficient and money-saving clean grid. I look forward to seeing the results of this new funding as it improves energy infrastructure from coast to coast to coast.” —The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
CPE extends its gratitude to the Government of Canada for their support and the U of T experts who shared their insights during this important visit.