Overview

"A Tool Kit for Community Energy Planning in BC" was first produced by the Community Energy Association in April 1997. Published originally as a three-ring binder, the Tool Kit quickly established itself both as a widely used practical resource and a frequently cited academic reference.

In this second edition, the Tool Kit has been updated and expanded to reflect the issues, case studies and experiences of community energy planning in BC in 2000 and beyond. The Tool Kit has been transformed from its original binder format into this Internet resource and corresponding folder package, available from the Community Energy Association. The folder package contains a condensed version of the Tool Kit, the contents of which can be targeted to particular audience needs.

This Tool Kit is written primarily for local elected officials, municipal and regional planners and engineers, real estate developers, as well as anyone interested in community sustainability and energy opportunities. It will also be a valuable resource for residents and community associations, chambers of commerce, gas and electric utilities, independent power producers, planning and development consultants, architects and homebuilders. In addition, the Kit has an important message for provincial ministries and agencies, including the B.C. Ministry of Municipal Affairs, the Ministry of Employment and Investment, the Ministry of Transportation and Highways, the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, and BC Transit.

The objectives of the Tool Kit are:

• to describe how energy is used in communities, and how its use affects the community;
• to show that designing for energy supports community livability objectives;
• to describe how energy considerations can be incorporated in existing community planning processes;
• to make clear that community energy planning can play a vital role in reducing Canada greenhouse gas emissions and so help slow climate change;
• to provide some practical advice that will help communities move toward energy sustainability; and
• to outline the roles of local government, developers, utilities and senior levels of government in making community energy planning happen in British Columbia.

This Toolkit was written and developed as an internet resource by Lee Failing and Graham Long of Compass Resource Management Ltd and Michael Margolick of ARA Consulting.