The Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative (DRAI), led by Four Winds & Associates, is empowering Indigenous communities across Alberta by providing no-cost energy audits, custom engineering support, and retrofit planning to improve the efficiency and sustainability of community infrastructure & facilities. By breaking down financial and technical barriers, the initiative ensures equitable access to energy-saving solutions that reduce costs, lower emissions, and enhance energy sovereignty for Indigenous Communities throughout Alberta.
Since its launch, Four Winds & Associates’ DRAI Program has identified over 30,000 GJ of potential energy savings across 84 Indigenous-owned buildings, resulting in over 1,500 tonnes of potential CO₂ emissions reductions.
With 50 deep energy retrofits plans underway and plans to have over 500 buildings using energy management software, the program is transforming community spaces such as schools, fire halls, and administration offices into more efficient, comfortable, and resilient environments while increasing the capacity of Indigenous Communities to operate their buildings utilizing best practices. The program also facilitates the practical improvement of buildings and funds the recommissioning of buildings to operate more efficiently, fix solar arrays that are no longer operational, and make adjustments to building controls to have the building operate more effectively.
The DRAI Program also provides career training and mentorship to Indigenous people, with seven full-time Indigenous hires working on the project, which is increasing the capacity of both Indigenous people and the energy efficiency industry as a whole. The project also seeks to make more effective links between industry and the local skilled workforce within communities to increase the participation of Indigenous peoples in all construction and building projects.
