This article was published by The Energy Mix on Feb. 15, 2024.
A hidden-gem organization in Edmonton is helping small towns and municipalities in Alberta get the funding and technical assistance they need to implement money-saving, emissions-slashing climate action.
“You probably haven’t heard of the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre (MCCAC),” writes David Dodge in a recent Green Energy Futures post on LinkedIn. “But since 2009, they have helped more than 150 small towns, cities, and municipalities install solar, install EV charging stations, and complete energy efficiency projects and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.”
A collaborative initiative of Alberta Municipalities, Rural Municipalities of Alberta, and the provincial government, the organization has provided C$44 million in funding for climate action in 156 Alberta communities, cutting the energy bills by $166 million so far.
The centre is the brainchild of former Alberta MLA Bob Hawkesworth, who also served as a Calgary city councillor. Hawkesworth’s two-term tenure as president of the now-defunct Alberta Urban Municipalities Association deepened his understanding that despite a keen interest, some municipalities may not be able to embark on energy efficiency projects due to a lack of capacity.
He worked with then-environment minister Rob Renner to secure funding of $2 million, and the MCCAC was born in 2009. Since then, the organization has supported 878 projects, including 150 solar installations totalling 30 megawatts, energy efficiency projects in 200 municipal facilities, and 200 new EV charging stations across Alberta.
In 2022 alone, the MCCAC helped catalyze $11.5 million in green investments within the province, including $4.2 million in energy-efficient recreational facilities, and $1.59 million in.
The town of Raymond, 30 kilometres south of Lethbridge, is proudly electric net-zero thanks to both financial and technical support from the MCCAC.
“We didn’t know anything about solar,” Greg Robinson, Raymond’s community development director, told Dodge. “I mean, you have to remember, as a small municipality, we don’t have the depth of experience on these things.”
Today, the town of 4,000 boasts nine solar projects, including panels on the aquatic centre, firehall, water plant, and ice rink.
Plugging into the urgent need to build capacity, the MCCAC recently ran a grant program to support municipalities looking to hire an energy manager. Some 37 municipalities enrolled in the program—one of centre’s most successful, according to Dodge.
The MCCAC also provides ongoing support to cities and towns struggling to adapt to climate change. It has so far helped 19 communities to conduct climate assessments and prepare resilience plans, including drought-stricken Pincher Creek, which ran out of fresh water last year, writes Dodge.
MCCAC’s staff has tripled since its creation, and now allocates “$5 to $10 million dollars a year in funding into municipalities,” said Executive Director Trina Innes. “And we’re looking to scale, as there is a lot that needs to be done in this space,” she says.
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