Low-Carbon Energy Innovation Frameworks for Ontario’s Rural, Remote, and Indigenous Communities

Energy innovation is essential to achieving net-zero goals, but most efforts have focused on urban areas. Rural, remote, and Indigenous communities face unique challenges, including geographic isolation, reliance on fossil fuels, limited power infrastructure, and pressing local issues such as housing and food insecurity, that can limit access to low-carbon energy initiatives.

Recognizing this gap, Pollution Probe and QUEST Canada developed two frameworks designed specifically to support rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in Ontario in navigating and benefiting from the low-carbon energy transition, and a workbook, providing practical templates to help effectively engage with these communities.

These frameworks and the supporting workbook provide tailored tools for rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, utilities, municipalities, and governments to identify and implement strategies that address these challenges while advancing low-carbon energy innovation and deployment. 

We would like to acknowledge the Ontario Energy Board Innovation Sandbox Challenge for the financial support they provided us for this project.