Energy Evolution: Ottawa’s Community Energy Transition Strategy Phase 2

“Energy Evolution Phase II: Ottawa’s Community Energy Transition Strategy” is a renewable energy strategy designed to manage energy consumption, promote the use of renewable energy and advance local economic development opportunities in Ottawa. Developed in collaboration with dozens of local businesses and organizations, the strategy is intended to be a community-wide initiative with a vision to transform Ottawa into “a thriving city powered by clean, renewable energy.” The strategy includes both municipal and community activities across the City, with all activity sectors (residential, commercial/institutional, transportation, waste, agriculture, etc.) and energy types considered to be in scope. Building on Phase 1, Energy Evolution II aims to advance several objectives; - as a renewable energy strategy, to be the primary municipal planning tool to achieve the City’s short- and long-term GHG reduction targets, including a reduction in community-scale GHG emissions by 80 percent below 2012 levels by 2050; - as an economic development strategy, to promote Ottawa as a center for innovation, research and technology development; - as a city building strategy, to establish stronger linkages between local energy and climate initiatives and their ability to advance other City objectives related to resiliency, public health, livability, equity and social inclusion. Energy Evolution will include several components, ranging from technical analyses to various forms of stakeholder engagement. A Business-As-Planned (BAP) scenario and 7 pathway forecasts that model potential energy consumption in Ottawa for the year 2050 will be completed. The pathway forecasts will estimate the impact of various energy reduction opportunities and approaches relative to; the BAP forecast, the City’s energy and emissions baseline, and its reduction targets under conservative, moderate and aggressive uptake scenarios. Pathway forecasts will be used to identify recommended scenarios, as in the ideal triple-bottom-line combination of policies and action, for achieving the City’s energy and GHG reduction targets. Finally, a marginal abatement cost analysis will be conducted to examine the full life-cycle costs and savings attributable to various scenarios. The City of Ottawa will facilitate a robust stakeholder engagement strategy that will provide guidance and solicit feedback from a range of internal and external groups in order to promote joint-ownership of action plan projects. Strategy development will be guided by an External Advisory Working Group (EAWG) comprised of energy and other professionals with relevant sector expertise in diverse areas. Energy Evolution is an example of advanced energy and climate planning that will highlight a number of techniques and processes that have the potential to be successfully applied in a range of municipalities country-wide. (Project description from original funding application)