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WCEL
> Issues > Urban Growth and
Development > Smart Bylaws Guide > Part
1 > Integrated Planning > Community
Energy Planning
Smart Bylaws Guide – Community Energy Planning
Community energy planning (CEP) is emerging as one comprehensive
planning tool that helps municipalities to understand how the use
and delivery of energy affects community goals as diverse as paying
for new infrastructure, managing growth, preserving watersheds,
controlling air pollution, and dealing with traffic congestion.
CEP complements and reinforces other smart growth planning by
demonstrating how creating compact complete communities also
decreases energy costs. The design of communities
fundamentally affects the use of energy.
CEP is the consideration of energy supply and demand in regional,
urban and neighbourhood design and development. It involves
efficiency in land use, transportation, site planning, building
design, retrofits, and infrastructure design, as well as development
of renewable energy. The goal is more environmentally,
socially and economically sustainable communities. CEP engages local government and citizens in the
management of energy supply and use. Municipalities can
promote CEP through their land use and transportation planning
procedures, building codes, bylaws, and municipal investments in
infrastructure. A well-designed CEP process will involve the
community, and encourage citizens to maximize energy and
transportation efficiency, shift transportation modes to less
energy-intensive ones, and utilize low-impact renewable energy
resources, especially local resources where these are available.
The Community
Energy Association (formerly the BC Energy Aware Committee)
works with municipalities to develop community energy plans to
reduce energy use, and the cost of that energy, for both a
municipality and its citizens.
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“…the City of Quesnel recognized that more
proactive management of urban transportation might make a
significant contribution towards improving air quality. In its new
OCP, therefore, the City introduced initiatives to reduce the air
quality impacts of urban transportation. It is clear from the
policies and activities cited in the OCP that the City would also
enhance the energy efficiency and the liveability of its urban
core in doing so…
Over the past few years, the City has implemented a
number of transport-impacting initiatives that can be broadly
categorized the following groups:
- land
use planning policies that create the conditions for a more
energy-efficient urban transportation infrastructure in addition
to fulfilling other objectives;
- transportation-related initiatives relating to:
- reduced embodied-energy roads and road systems (i.e., that use less energy in their construction);
- bicycle trails and pathways;
- initiation of a study into public transportation possibilities.”
Toolkit for Community Energy Planning in BC – Case
Study: Quesnel – Small Steps Towards Better Transportation
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Community energy plans address:
- Land
Use Planning and Transportation - to develop compact complete land
use patterns where a variety of uses are mixed to increase
alternatives to automobile travel. Strategies include contiguous
development patterns, parking plans and siting, street design and
traffic rules, trip reduction measures, and stakeholder
participation;
- Site Planning and Building Design - to increase
the use of design to improve energy performance. Strategies include
building and appliance efficiency, solar orientation of buildings,
landscaping, wind shielding and shading, pedestrian facilities and
orientation, and transit facilities and orientation;
- Infrastructure Efficiency - to increase the use of energy-efficiency
of infrastructure, and to increase the production of energy from
regional or municipal facilities. Strategies include water supply
and use, wastewater collection and storm drainage, recycling
facilities, heat and power recovery, and joint infrastructure
planning and delivery;
- Alternative Energy Supply - to increase
local and high efficiency energy supply options. Strategies include
"district" heating and cooling, waste heat utilization,
heat pumps, co-generation of heat and power, wood-waste systems,
solar technologies, and alternative fuels.
Community energy planning resources
Community Action
on Energy Efficiency Program (BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and
Petroleum Resources) and Community
Action on Energy Efficiency - Local Government Policy Tools Final
Report (Fraser Basin Council, June 2007)
Toolkit for Community Energy Planning in
BC (Community Energy
Association)
Energy Aware Planning Guide (California Energy Commission)
Community
Energy (US Department of Energy)
For More Information
Community
Energy Association – Laura Porcher, (250) 598-4034,
laura.porcher@shaw.ca
City
of Quesnel –
Councillor Mike Doyle, (250) 992-2111, mdoyle@city.quesnel.bc.ca
City
of Dawson Creek Community Energy Plan
See also:
Town
of Banff Community Energy Plan fact sheet
Pembina
Institute Renewable Energy for First Nations
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