Canada's Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program

In 2021, Canada launched a $4.5 billion program to support grid modernization, energy storage, and renewable energy technologies. The program, called the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs), works with provinces, territories, and Indigenous Peoples to reduce dependence on fossil fuels while growing the grid in a sustainable, affordable, and reliable fashion. It also complements other measures like the Canada Infrastructure Bank that has committed $10 billion in financing for clean electricity. SREPs is expected to conclude in March of 2036.

The program includes the following 3 streams:

Critical Regional Priorities Stream:

Identifies critical investments in electricity systems while maintaining affordability and reliability.

Indigenous-Led Clean Energy Stream:

Increases Indigenous participation in the installation of renewable energy, energy storage, and grid modernization technologies.

Utility Support Stream:

Funding for grid modernization, technology upgrades, and upgrades/expansions to transmission and distribution systems.

The program has achieved the following results as of 2024:

72 deployment projects, 90 capacity building projects, 2,700 MW of renewable energy capacity added, and 3.1 MT of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions displaced per year. 61% of deployment projects also have Indigenous ownership.

Borrum Energy Solutions also looks to implement systems that reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The firm designs microgeneration wind turbines and towers that provide rural dwellings with an opportunity to reduce propane/diesel costs while lowering carbon emissions and dependence on the electrical grid.