In 2001, Alberta’s electricity market fully deregulated. Industry saw an opportunity for Decentralised Energy (DE) to substantially reduce emissions, energy costs and system losses while diversifying Alberta’s economy and creating jobs. In response, a small group of stakeholders established Decentralised Energy Canada (DEC) to connect and support businesses in the DE industry and to drive a paradigm shift from a carbon intensive, centralised energy system to a cleaner, more efficient, decentralised energy system. This initiated an industry movement that marked the beginning of Alberta’s transition to a low-carbon energy economy. In 15 years DEC has cultivated an industry cluster of more than 10,400 businesses, suppliers, and professional service providers. Education initiatives have reached more than 98% of Alberta homes and more than 17% of Alberta’s urban municipalities have accessed DEC’s services. DEC’s membership represents over $25.7 billion of revenue with more than 70% of these businesses based out of Alberta. Project support services have been delivered to more than 900 projects representing approximately 1,500 MW of DE capacity and an estimated 2 million tonnes of CO2 offsets annually compared with the baseline energy supply mix in Alberta.
For more on Decentralised Energy Canada, visit deassociation.ca.