Community engagement is not a new idea for power generators. Long before interest in local involvement rose to its present levels, many owners and operators of power projects were actively working with their neighbors and members of their local community to ensure understanding of each other’s concerns and maintain channels of communication.
A prime example of this is the Portlands Energy Centre (PEC), which has been reaching out to its local community in a variety of ways since its inception in the early 2000s. Now, with an active Community Liaison Committee, an Ecological Sustainability Committee, diverse environmental initiatives and extensive ties to other community projects, there are few examples of companies that are more involved with their communities than PEC.
Located within walking distance of many homes and businesses in a relatively dense area of east Toronto, the PEC is one of the few convenient opportunities many Canadians would have to see a power plant up close. In fact, more than 2,400 people have visited the PEC power plant through Toronto “Doors Open” events during the past four years, as well as on various special tours.
Since it began operation in 2008, PEC has managed to foster enough interest amongst local residents to have a number of volunteers serving on advisory committees. Supported by community dialogue, PEC has been able to make changes to its operations and install features designed to enhance its ecological footprint. For example, a couple of years ago PEC set up a project to create a habitat for bees in the area. Bees, it seems, were not doing well in the local environment, and PEC was in a good position to contribute to its nearby ecosystem by accommodating several hives, which are thriving under the care of an expert beekeeper, and no doubt helping with pollination across a significant amount of terrain. This is undoubtedly an example of an initiative that is appreciated locally, but which never would have been recognized as important to the company without significant community engagement.
At the same time, PEC is implementing an ecological sustainability strategy to improve its ecological footprint, contribute to the ecosystem across the Portlands area, and ensure that its sustainability initiatives are synchronized with its community’s environmental projects.
PEC’s initiatives embody the practical side of its vision of creating a positive impact on land, air and water – for life – and leaving the site in a better condition than when the plant was first built. These initiatives range from reforestation efforts and reducing E. coli in storm water from city sources to collaborating with local universities and colleges on environmental capstone projects.
Its Community Liaison Committee and a local Ecological Sustainability Committee meet several times a year, often bringing out comments and questions that help develop and inform PEC’s operations. Information sharing and learning about the PEC is part of each committee’s ongoing work.
As a by-product, this structure also fosters information sharing with the research community and in so doing, gives PEC insights and expertise to pursue innovative ecological solutions, such as implementing a pit and mound restoration technique to revitalize its ecosystem.
PEC also strives to keep the lines of communication open with various elected representatives in its area. Politicians such as Craig Scott, the MP for Toronto-Danforth, and Catherine Fife, MPP for Kitchener-Waterloo and NDP Infrastructure Critic, have toured the plant. PEC participates in various environmental and community events and sponsors many organizations’ fundraising initiatives and other projects. These range from supporting local sports teams and the TRCA’s Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative: Kid’s World Energy Festival, to the Charles Sauriol Environmental Dinner.
How did the PEC find itself at the centre of one of the most active and involved community engagement projects in the power industry? Partly it’s a matter of history and partly it was the company’s management who believed that developing an outstanding community engagement program would be good for the business and internal morale. They also recognized the opportunities its location, size and resources afford it to go beyond corporate donations and mandated requirements, and actually work with the community to improve its ecological footprint.
In many respects, PEC has actually started to break the mold in terms of applying community engagement and sustainability best practices that its parent companies might not have considered. One of the more than 400 guests who attended the Toronto Doors Open event at the Portlands Energy Centre this past May complimented the team’s communications effort: “Very informative. We are from the Sherway Drive area of the cancelled plant. This tour opened my eyes.”
Curtis Mahoney, PEC’s General Manager, says “We want to continue to move the ideology of community engagement forward every year.”
It hasn’t always been this way. When the PEC project was proposed, there were vocal opponents in the local community. But a conscientious program of public education, engagement and carefully addressing concerns raised by the community helped PEC arrive at the much more positive reception it is enjoying today.
“Controversies about power plants as community land uses are not expected to subside soon,” Dave Hardy, President, Hardy Stevenson and Associates Limited, a multidisciplinary planning and management consulting firm that works with PEC, has noted. “However, there are a few examples where the relationship has been re-thought and a mutually beneficial relationship with local communities has developed. When this occurs, the power plant, local community and wider ecosystem all benefit.”
It appears that PEC is a strong example of community engagement in Canada, and may well be part of trend that is raising the bar for the power sector as a whole.
For more information, see the following fact sheets and discussion papers published on the PEC website:
http://portlandsenergycentre.com/our_community/index.html
See also for reference:
http://sustainablepowerplants.com/.
and For further information
The following documents are available on the APPrO magazine website, for those seeking additional information:
List of Community and Aboriginal set-aside projects approved in the July 3 2013 release
List of CEPP projects approved as of March 2013
FIT 2.1 Application List for Contracts as of Jul 3, 2013
See also this related stories from a previous issues of IPPSO FACTO: “First community partnership energy project online, June 2011”