Launching OUR Energy Future

In February, the EFL launched the “My Energy Futures” campaign with the intent of inviting more diverse voices into conversation around the future of energy in Canada. Shortly after, COVID-19 came sprinting into our lives with drastic changes in hand. We’ve all learned to adapt and connect in new ways, responding to these trying times by pulling together. Taking some time as a team to pause, the EFL was curious to see where people were investing their hearts, minds and resources. We noticed that communities were naturally gravitating towards more collective ways of thinking and this newfound connection catapulted the EFL into the campaign’s second phase, which focuses on "Our Energy Future."

Another important facet of this discussion now revolves around economic recovery and the role energy can play in revitalizing Canada’s economy. We are working to create an open space to discuss the critical role energy will play during this period of recovery and in doing so, the EFL has begun to host interactive public events, providing a platform to further explore our energy future, together.

 

Five Big Ideas for Alberta’s Economic Recovery

In March, the Lab’s Managing Director, Alison Cretney, and Lead Animator, Chad Park, co-wrote an article titled "Five Big Ideas for Alberta’s Economic Recovery." The article gained a lot of traction and inspired the EFL to further explore its ability to stimulate economic recovery in Alberta. Between April and May, the EFL hosted two virtual conferences focused on the five ideas presented in the article: Bitumen Beyond Combustion, lithium, hydrogen, geothermal energy and artificial intelligence.

You’ll find the recordings from the event and more about our presenters in this blog post.

 

 

Big Ideas for Our Energy Future Series

This month, Energy Futures Lab will be launching Big Ideas for Our Energy Future, an interactive speaker series focused on Lab initiatives. The series is meant to encourage cross-pollination across all stakeholders in the energy system on the topic of how accelerating the energy transition fuels economic recovery in Alberta. Participants are encouraged to build connections and explore how various topics might be shaping Canada’s collective relationship with the energy landscape.

We have had many learnings from the Five Big Ideas for Alberta’s Economic Recovery Virtual Conferences and see this as an opportunity to continue the conversation, engagement, and profile of the Lab and its Fellows. Please take a look at our social media channels for more details and for the release of our speaker lineup.

 

Shovel Ready Projects Submission

As government response to the current crisis shifts from immediate relief towards economic stimulus and recovery, the EFL had the opportunity to submit 'shovel ready' or 'job creation ready' projects to the federal government, sourced from the EFL network. The final 105 page document submitted in April contained 53 projects, eleven of which were incubated, nurtured and developed collaboratively within the Lab, while the remainder were sourced from partner and participating organizations.

 

Chad Park reflects on his time with the EFL

As Chad Park transitioned into a new role as VP, Sustainability and Citizenship at The Cooperators, the Lab’s former Lead Animator reflected on his time with the EFL. His thoughts are shared in this blog post.

Fortunately for the Energy Futures Lab, Chad will remain very involved going forward either as an EFL Fellow or a very active member of the EFL Steering Committee (still TBD), and has the support of the Cooperators to do so. Having played multiple roles with the EFL since its inception, he is excited to transition into more of a participant and advisor role to continue advancing our work together. Chad began his new role on June 1st and will stay based in Edmonton.

Chad’s responsibilities as Lead Animator will transition to other team members, including Alison Cretney as Managing Director for the lab, Erin Romanchuk whose position as Director of Partnerships is moving to full time and Juli Rohl as EFL Animator. Additional team capacity needs will be addressed in the coming months as the work unfolds.

 

Upcoming Events:

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pEJsoXz_Tea10VdeuXD5_A

 

Stay tuned for registration and speaker details for this event.

 

In case you missed it:

As always, email us with any questions or for more information.

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