Martin Boucher (University of Saskatchewan) , Marc-Andre Pigeon (University of Saskatchewan)
Canada has set a target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. One of the paths to reach this target is through the accelerated adoption of renewable energy technologies.. Renewable Energy Co-operatives (REC) – a growing and important part of Europe’s 2050 transition strategy – emerge as one of the opportunities for Canadians to engage and participate in a local and democratic form of energy production that could help meet Canada’s objective. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with policymakers and findings from a census of Canada’s fledgling REC sector, we suggest however that Canada’s REC sector faces significant policy barriers, including notably a disposition amongst policymakers to judge community-led initiatives as high-risk, low reward.