The Government of Canada is committed to building a clean energy future to strengthen the economy, create good jobs and support the natural resource sectors. This will be more important than ever as we reopen the economy and plan our recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

Kate Young, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Member of Parliament for London West, on behalf of the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, today announced a $5.1-million investment in London Hydro to develop and deploy a smart microgrid in the West 5 net-zero energy community in London, Ontario. This funding will help the community achieve its net-zero targets. Local partners are also contributing to this project, including S2e Technologies, Sifton Properties and Western University, for a combined investment of $10.99 million.

Building on federal government commitments to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, this investment supports the design and development of Canada’s first large-scale, fully integrated, net-zero energy community. The microgrid will integrate monitoring, data management and communications, electric vehicle infrastructure, distributed energy resource management, solar power generation and batteries to reduce grid use.

Smart grid projects help create smarter and greener communities while saving Canadians money and reducing pollution. The goal of this project is to demonstrate that net-zero energy is feasible at the community level, which will promote sustainable development and inspire widespread change across Canada’s construction industry.

Funding for this project is provided by Natural Resources Canada’s Smart Grid Program, which allows utilities to reduce pollution and optimize electricity use while encouraging innovation. The program is part of the Government of Canada’s more than $180-billion Investing in Canada Plan to create long-term economic growth; support a low- carbon, green economy; and build inclusive communities.

Today’s announcement is in line with the plan developed following Canada’s national energy dialogue, Generation Energy. Canadians made it clear that clean energy solutions are not a luxury but a necessity for Canada’s low-carbon future. Canada will continue to support clean energy projects that create jobs, support investment and industry competitiveness, advance our clean future and help realize our global climate change goals.