HHEAT (Community Power)

Hamilton Halton Energy Awareness Team (HHEAT) is a new project under HERE! Halton Enablers of Renewable Energy. HEN is partnering with Environment Hamilton to promote ways to enable everyone to participate in renewable energy projects and the Green Energy Act.

Thanks to an education grant from the Community Energy Partnerships Program, we are working with communities across Halton and Hamilton to assist them in starting community power projects.

This project started August 1, 2011. The intent is to create awareness about renewable energy and its connection to community power. Our goal is to work within local hub areas through educational initiatives and guidance via resources across Hamilton and Halton regions.

We hope to accomplish the following:

1. To educate and build awareness of renewable energy sources and their relative applications within Halton and Hamilton communities.
2. To sensitize local people about the basic principles, advantages and potential uses of Community Power among their communities and introduce the concept of the Cooperative business model and its relative application to renewable energy projects at the community level.
3. To identify and foster active relationships among six potential regional hubs with the intent of establishing a Community Renewable Energy Cooperation working group within each of these designated areas.
4. To produce a Community power "how to" guidebook that will serve as an informative step by step manual whereby communities can go about setting up their own local cooperative.
5. To host a cross-regional Community Renewable Energy Summit that unites all six hubs in coming together to share their experiences with others, and serves as a platform that provides expertise, additional guidance and success stories from other regional partners.

Visit our blog to find out more.