Case Studies
The Profitable Outcome of Getting Unstuck
With an energy-conscious mindset, communities are moving beyond incremental fixes to reclaim wasted energy, modernize infrastructure, and lead the energy transition. Here are six progressive examples highlighting what was stuck, the community’s move, and what has changed so far.
Communities are moving beyond incremental fixes to lead transformational change.
One
Land Use Planning Is Energy Planning: Brampton & Caledon
What was stuckEnergy conversations happen too late in the municipal development approvals process for local energy solutions to have a fair chance to be considered. The default is grid electricity or fossil gas.
This is what happened
The move
Brampton and Caledon flipped the switch. By commissioning community energy plans for secondary plans, they introduced policy designed to have a conversation with the developer at the beginning of the application process. In Brampton’s case, it was the Heritage Heights Secondary Plan; in Caledon’s, the Bolton Secondary Plan.What’s changed so far
More effective engagement of a key stakeholder in the energy transition – the development industry.Two
Market Transformation for Home Energy Retrofits: Newmarket
What was stuckYears of government and utility rebate programs have not moved the needle on energy retrofits — the projects that did happen delivered only modest savings. The rebates weren’t the problem; the retrofit market itself was — customized, high-effort, low-volume work, where contractors sink up to 40% of revenue into sales and administration just to close a single deal, keeping costs high and homeowner trust low.
This is what happened
The move
Newmarket looked past incentives to the market structure underneath. The town built a case for standardizing retrofit packages and delivering them at scale to turn a fragmented, custom-built product into a repeatable one that contractors could price and deliver predictably.What’s changed so far
The Newmarket Energy Efficiency Business Case (2019) and Plan (2024) are the basis for a funding application to test their model.Three
Canada’s Missing Utility: Waterloo Region
What was stuckRoughly 40% of the region’s energy demand is low-grade heat for space and water heating which is supplied by imported fossil gas with no decarbonization pathway.
This is what happened
The move
WR Community Energy assessed the region’s thermal resources — geothermal potential alone estimated at ten times regional demand, plus wastewater heat recovery and industrial waste heat. Based on the thermal opportunity, they developed a Conceptual Business Case for a Waterloo Region Thermal Energy Utility which made the case for a flexible municipally-anchored model: district energy in dense areas, building-scale heat pumps elsewhere, with each municipality free to choose public, hybrid, or contracted ownership while still planning and coordinating region-wide.What’s changed so far
By establishing a forward-looking and flexible system of ownership with a focus on region-wide planning, collaboration and partnerships, Waterloo Region is moving beyond incremental projects towards a systemic energy transition.Four
Municipal Services as Energy Assets: Markham District Energy’s Wastewater Heat Recovery
What was stuckA municipal wastewater treatment plant releases real, usable heat before and after treatment — but most plants are managed only as a cost centre to taxpayers.
This is what happened
The move
Markham District Energy — already Canada’s fastest-growing municipally owned energy utility — expanded its network with what’s billed as the world’s largest wastewater-to-energy facility, backed by $24.9 million in federal funding announced in July 2024. Rather than treating the wastewater plant as separate from the energy system, Markham plumbed its heat directly into the district energy network already serving the community.What’s changed so far
Municipal mindsets are changing. The False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility was first. Others, like Markham, are following.Five
Prosumer Power: Gunn’s Hill Wind Farm, Oxford County
What was stuckRural renewable energy generation in Canada is still mostly centralized and utility owned. Rural and agricultural communities host the infrastructure without holding a stake in it.
This is what happened
The move
Oxford County took a different route. The Gunn’s Hill Wind Farm — 10 turbines, built with an Indigenous partnership — was financed through the Oxford Community Energy Co-operative, a local co-op that raised more than $9 million from local investors through a public share offering.What’s changed so far
Profits are shared with co-op members and reinvested in local sustainability initiatives, and the Indigenous partnership built equity and Reconciliation directly into the project’s ownership structure rather than as a side agreement layered on top of it.Six
Your Parked Bus Is an Energy Asset: BC Hydro & Alectra V2G Fleet Pilots
What was stuckAn electric vehicle is seen as a cleaner replacement for a gas one — a battery that draws power to charge and then sits idle the rest of the time, but it can be much more. A bi-directionally-charged vehicle can also sell power back to the grid at peak demand. An EV isn’t just a cleaner car. It’s a mobile energy storage unit that happens to also drive you to work.
This is what happened
The move
BC Hydro and Alectra both started from the same insight: don’t try to solve vehicle-to-grid (V2G) for private cars first — start with a fleet that one owner already controls, that’s large, and that’s predictably idle for long stretches. Both picked electric school buses. BC Hydro launched Canada’s first utility-led V2G pilot in 2025; Alectra (Ontario) launched a parallel AlectraDrive V2X pilot for light- and medium-duty fleet vehicles, also centred on electric school buses.What’s changed so far
Mindset. An EV parked in a driveway or a bus lot isn’t just avoiding tailpipe emissions, it can also be storage capacity the grid doesn’t have to build separately.