New Brunswick Smart Energy Communities Accelerator Pilot Program
About the Project
The NB SECA Pilot Program successfully established a community energy planning accelerator to assist a series of New Brunswick communities and one First Nation, equipping them with the tools and knowledge to develop and implement community energy plans and understand the net economic benefit they can provide.
Program Services & Tools
Participating Communities received support to guide them through the implementation of a Smart Energy Community Accelerator Plan, which included:
Utilizing established tools and processes to build the foundational knowledge and structure needed to effectively develop and action community energy and emissions plans and initiatives.
Providing access to custom coaching and navigation services.
Connecting communities to a robust network of peer communities to promote collaboration, knowledge sharing and to build collective energy literacy.
New Brunswick Pilot Communities
District of Carleton North
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Located in western New Brunswick, the Town of Florenceville-Bristol is located on the Saint John River and is part of Carleton County. With a population of 1,604 as of the 2016 census, Florenceville-Bristol is a rural community that has a rich agriculture heritage. The Town hosts corporate headquarters of McCain Foods, the largest producer of French fries in the world and for that reason, the Town is known as “The French Fry Capital of the World”.
Florenceville-Bristol has an average temperature of 11.5 degrees Celsius and reaches record lows of -37.8 degrees Celsius in winter months and 35.0 degrees Celsius in summer months. Florenceville-Bristol receives approximately 1,100mm of precipitation per year and experiences all 4 seasons. During spring months, flooding can occur along the Saint John River in low laying areas.
The Town aims to reduce their corporate greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2027 from 2017 levels and their community greenhouse gas emission 10% by 2027 from 2017 levels. This will be done through a number of actions such as building retrofits, streetlight LED light bulb conversion and water conservation. Overall, the Town of Florenceville-Bristol is taking the correct steps to decrease their greenhouse gas emission, costs and increase the health of all its citizens.
Town of Oromocto
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Village of Southern Victoria
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Town of Quispamsis
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The population of Quispamsis in 2016 was 18,245 inhabitants spread over an area of 57.21km², a density of 318.9 hab./km². The Municipality had 6,596 private dwellings in 2016, of which 6,455 were occupied by full time residents. 57% of dwellings were built before 1991. Quispamsis is the sixth-largest municipality in New Brunswick.
Quispamsis, and the four other regional municipalities — Rothesay, Grand Bay-Westfield, St. Martins, and Saint John — and area private sector investors have given Enterprise Saint John the mandate to be the backbone organization for the region’s integrated economic development strategy — True Growth.
In 2017, MoneySence named Quispamsis the best place to live in Atlantic Canada.
Town of Sussex
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Today, Sussex is primarily a regional service centre for the surrounding agricultural communities of the upper Kennebecasis River valley. The town is a highway service centre on Route 1, the primary highway between Moncton and Saint John, as well as being the most heavily travelled route in the Maritimes to the United States.
Since 2003, natural gas has been available from the McCully field near Sussex. The potential local natural gas supply and the energy opportunities resulting from the recently closed Potash Company of Canada mine both support the goals of the town’s Community Energy Plan and its economic development objectives.
Town of Saint Andrews
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St. Mary’s First Nation
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Municipal District of St. Stephen
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Town of Woodstock
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Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick partner communities
Five partner communities, through partnership with the Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick, are participating in the NB SECA Program.
Village de Cap-Pelé
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Village of Nigadoo
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Le village, qui a été incorporé en 1967, compte aujourd’hui près de 1 000 habitants. C’est un endroit à caractère résidentiel et touristique où il fait bon vivre. Vous y trouverez la plupart des services habituellement offerts dans les grands centres, tels que camping, parc d’attraction, marché de poissons, motel, artisanat, antiquités et restaurants gastronomiques. La rivière de Nigadoo est un joli site où il fait bon se baigner et pêcher. On retrouve le long de celle-ci, dans le parc du Vieux Moulin, les ruines d’un moulin datant du 19e siècle.
Communauté Rurale de Saint-André
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Saint-André vous invite, petits et grands, à venir vous amuser et découvrir le dynamisme de sa communauté où l’agriculture est à la base de son économie.
Pour votre plus grand bonheur, venez respirer l’air pur des espaces naturels et admirer les paysages de cette charmante campagne.
Saint-André est un site enchanteur où l’on y découvre de nombreux trésors…Une magnifique église centenaire érigée au milieu de la communauté, des champs de pommes de terre à couper le souffle sans oublier le plus petit pont couvert du monde. Voilà quelques-unes des particularités propres de cette région.
Prendre le temps de s’arrêter, s’évader du quotidien et se laisser séduire par le charme particulier de Saint-André, voilà un endroit qui saura éveiller tous vos sens!
Village de Saint-Isidore
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Village de Ste-Marie-St-Raphaël
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Community Acceleration Timeline
Community Acceleration Timeline
Stage 2 Achievements
1. The Smart Energy Communities Benchmark
2. The Energy Conscious Community: An Energy Course for Planning Professionals
3. Webinar Training Series on Community Energy Resources
Stage 3 Achievements
1. Community Energy Mapping
2. Participatory Renewable Energy Assessment
Stage 4 Achievements
1. Community Energy Planning
- Community Energy Plan Development workshops utilized interactive exercises that engaged diverse local participants in each community to develop energy and emissions targets and prioritize corresponding action strategies to achieve them.
- The results have been used to inform the development of their local Community Energy Action Plans.
Completed July 2022
2. Economic Analysis
Completed July 2022
3. Community Energy Implementation
- The Community Energy Plan Implementation Frameworks were developed via workshops that utilized interactive exercises that engaged diverse local participants in each community to develop implementation strategies for the actions developed in their local plans.
- These frameworks are PCP Milestone compliant and provide communities with the necessary key governance and strategic frameworks for successful local plan implementation.
Completed Sept 2022
Stage 5 Achievements
1. Completion of Re-Benchmarking
- Participating communities underwent a Smart Energy Communities Benchmark re-benchmarking process to document and celebrate the great progress made during their participation in the NB SECA program.
- Participating communities increased their scores by an average of 14%.
Completed March 2023
2. Project Evaluation
QUEST Canada has completed a project evaluation with a third-party evaluator. The developmental evaluator found that the pilot program provided high quality services to New Brunswick municipalities, giving participants the knowledge, skills and expertise needed to create their own individual CEEPs. The plans and the resulting integration into longer-term planning documents, policy development and built environment changes will sustain their shift into a net-zero future.
Completed March 2023
Next Steps
With the completion of the re-benchmarking process—NB SECA’s final program milestone—QUEST Canada will prepare for the program’s extension. The program will be extended by one year with a dual purpose: to provide additional support to participating communities addressing post-municipal reform to ensure their CEEPs are up-to-date, and to equip a new cohort of New Brunswick communities to develop and implement CEEPs.
Program Outcomes
Enhanced and ongoing knowledge sharing and support around community energy planning for 14 New Brunswick communities, including one First Nation.
The development and implementation of tailored Accelerator plans and Summary Reports to help NB SECA participants assess their current achievements and next steps related to community energy planning.
Case Studies to assess the economic impact of elements of Community Energy Plans, and a report that uses these case studies to extrapolate the impact of implementing all CEPs in New Brunswick to help inform the province’s economic recovery strategy post-COVID.
Lessons learned and results that can be shared with interested stakeholders both regionally and nationally.
Resources
CEEP Resources
QUEST Canada Resources
- Resource Guide to Community Net-Zero Action
- QUEST Canada’s CEP Primer for NB Municipalities
- QUEST Canada’s SEC Benchmark Tool
- QUEST Canada’s Economic Impact Assessment Workbook
Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) Resources
- PCP’s Milestone Tool
- PCP’s website
- PCP’s Hub
MEED Resource
NB SECA Communities In the News
Small Modular Reactors Main Topic at Saint Andrews Council Meeting
The Saint Croix Courier, March 15
Read the article
New Brunswick communities ramping up climate plans
Environment Journal, August 16
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Maintaining Momentum on Climate Action after Municipal Reform
QUEST Canada Blog Post, July 21
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QUEST Canada Helps Saint Andrews, St. Stephen Find Smart-Energy Solutions For Their Environments And Economies
Huddle, April 4, 2022
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Communities Pass Halfway Mark in the New Brunswick Smart Energy Community Accelerator Program
News Release, March 31, 2022
Read the news release
Creating Smart Energy Communities in Atlantic Canada
Blog by NB Power and Nova Scotia Power, March 10, 2022
Read the article
Dodging the Peak: Smart grid to cut carbon and incorporate renewables
Sussex Partners with QUEST To Create Lower-Cost Renewable Energy
New Brunswick’s Smart Energy Community Accelerator Communities Enter a New Phase
Announcing the launch of the New Brunswick Smart Energy Communities Accelerator Program
Program Funders
For more information about the program, please contact Seth Leon, Projects and Programs Manager, at QUEST Canada at [email protected] or 866-494-2770 e.705.
Empowering Canadian Communities
QUEST Canada develops and implements programs and projects with the aim to nurture strategic partnerships, facilitate connections, empower community champions, and influence decisions makers, supporting communities across Canada on their pathway to net-zero. Find out more about our programs and projects:
Enabling Low-Carbon Energy Projects for Investments
Communities in Canada are increasingly developing local, low-carbon energy projects, but many face road-blocks with regards to financing. Simultaneously, Canadian investors are seeking low-carbon investments, but are challenged to find local opportunities at scale for investment. The Enabling Low Carbon Energy Projects for Investment (ELCEPI) research project aims to offer recommendations and solutions to close these financing gaps, while connecting the barriers and enablers for investment to larger socio-economic issues.
Accelerating Implementation of Renewable Energy for Indigenous Communities
Accelerating Implementation of Renewable Energy (AIRE) for Indigenous Communities is a three-year project designed to help rural and remote Indigenous communities reach emission reduction targets by increasing their capacity to plan and implement land-based renewable energy initiatives (solar, wind, biomass, and geo-thermal). This project supports rural, remote Indigenous communities on their pathway to net-zero.
Equitable Engagement
The Equitable Engagement project works to incorporate Indigenous knowledge as well as equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) considerations into QUEST Canada’s capacity building-based initiatives. The aim of this project is to ensure current and future participating communities are equipped with the tools, resources, and knowledge required to engage all stakeholders on the pathway to a durable and just net-zero future.