Energy Peers in Indigenous Communities (EPIC) Network
The EPIC Network — with support from the Fraser Basin Council — is aimed at building capacity, knowledge and skills on renewable energy in Indigenous communities in British Columbia through the work of Community Energy Champions.
EPIC’s Clean Energy Champions and their Communities
Community Energy Champions are helping to advance the clean energy work of Malahat First Nation, Penticton Indian Band, Quatsino First Nation, Sik-D-dakh First Nation, Skwah First Nation, Snuneymuxw First Nation, Tseshaht First Nation and West Moberly First Nation.
Meet two of the EPIC Network’s Community Energy Champions and learn about work underway at Malahat and Quatsino First Nations!
Quatsino First Nation | Community Energy Champion Kara Wilson
Quatsino First Nation | Community Energy Story
Quatsino First Nation has a community energy plan that places priority on reducing energy costs, improving energy efficiency in homes and buildings, and developing local renewable energy sources. Renewable energy prospects include run-of-river hydropower, wind, solar photovoltaic and wave energy. Read more.
Malahat First Nation | Community Energy Champion George Harry
Malahat First Nation | Community Energy Story
Malahat First Nation is innovating through the exploration and integration of renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectric, solar, wind, and biofuel, and coordination via an intelligent microgrid system. The aim is energy independence and resilience by allowing for precise management of energy resources and reduction of operational costs. The Nation’s plans include a battery energy storage manufacturing facility for commercial and residential applications. Read more.
About EPIC
The Energy Peers in Indigenous Communities (EPIC) Network is a program to build capacity, knowledge and skills related to renewable energy in Indigenous communities in British Columbia.
The program provides capacity-building funds to Indigenous communities to advance their energy goals related to community renewable energy. The intention is to build knowledge and skills related to renewable energy projects in Indigenous on–grid communities in BC.
EPIC supports a cohort of participants (called Community Energy Champions) through a peer-to-peer cohort and peer mentorship approach to building and sharing knowledge, networking and engagement, skills development and training on renewable energy.
More on the Program
Our program partners provide strategic guidance and oversight of the EPIC Network program:
- New Relationship Trust (Learn more)
- Natural Resources Canada’s Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program
(Learn more | Media release on EPIC) - Province of BC, Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation
- BC Hydro
- FortisBC
- To increase the capacity of Indigenous communities in BC to progress their community energy goals and to participate in the renewable energy sector
- To provide opportunities for Indigenous communities to increase their energy resilience and to realize their energy independence and sovereignty goals
- To empower Indigenous communities to take climate action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
- To maximize community social and economic benefits of clean energy initiatives
Indigenous representatives have indicated that community readiness is a significant barrier to implementing renewable energy projects. To enhance community readiness, the EPIC Network program focuses on capacity building through a peer-to-peer cohort networking model. The Program is designed to be flexible by providing training and support for different stages of “readiness” of communities and participants.
Peer-to-peer learning offers benefits outside the realm of traditional educational environments, such as increased cooperation and collaboration, knowledge-sharing, relationship-building and social benefits. In addition, being part of a cohort is an effective method of encouraging cross-community sharing and mutual support. These efforts aim to enhance equity, diversity and inclusion by increasing the representation of Indigenous groups in the renewable energy sector.
Participating communities have completed contribution agreements with FBC to fund a Community Energy Champion until March 31, 2025. Participating communities are responsible for recruiting and hiring their Community Energy Champion, with support from the EPIC Network Lead staff.
To enhance the equity, diversity and inclusion of participants, FBC supports flexibility via part-time or flexible positions for the energy champion role to encourage gender balance and Culturally Relevant Gender Application Protocols (CRGAP), developed by the Native Women’s Association of Canada. Communities may elect to hire community energy champions to live and work in community, or to live and work remotely, depending on community needs and preferences.
Travel subsidies and stipends for childcare will be available to cohort members to support them in attending training and annual gatherings, to enhance accessibility, and to increase the potential diversity of participants by removing financial and other potential barriers to participation.
The Network Lead staff support the Community Energy Champion cohort as a whole to foster connection, build trusting relationships, and create meaningful learning and networking opportunities. They work collaboratively with individual Community Energy Champions to develop their annual work plans and individual training plans to help advance their community’s renewable energy priorities.
Workplans and training plans can include coordinating community energy planning and implementation, demand side management, community engagement, renewable energy feasibility studies, project planning, design and engineering, project funding and project implementation.
The Network Lead staff work on delivering culturally sensitive training. This includes considering appropriate ceremony, engaging with Indigenous youth and Elders and other cultural elements as appropriate and supportive of creativity in community engagement.
Capacity-building activities for Community Energy Champions include:
- networking opportunities with community energy champions, such as monthly team meetings and annual in-person gatherings
- customized training and skills development
- one-on-one mentorships with Indigenous subject matter experts
- webinars on priority small-scale renewable energy topics
Training and skills development includes:
1) Individual, customized training, and skills development
The EPIC Network Lead staff work with the energy champions to develop annual training and skills development plans based on the distinct priorities, needs and preferences of each community. Participants define the outcome that they are aiming to achieve, take individual leadership and move at their own pace, with annual targets for individual training hours, based on community priorities and a menu of training options. There is an individual training budget for each network member.
2) Group training
Group training includes 2–3 webinars per year on priority renewable energy topics, with input from the Community Energy Champions. Group training can also include professional development in areas such as project management, fundraising and grant writing, and Indigenous community engagement.
3) One-on-One mentorships
With Indigenous energy champions or industry subject matter experts on specific topics, such as community energy planning, renewable energy and energy storage project planning, energy efficiency, energy audits, heat pumps and solar PV installation.
Indigenous communities can benefit from renewable energy project ownership. Some of these benefits include:
- lower electricity costs as a result of renewable energy project ownership
- increased energy resilience
- increased energy independence and sovereignty
- socioeconomic benefits from energy sector job creation, such as employment opportunities resulting from installation, operations and maintenance training and work
The Fraser Basin Council administers the EPIC Network under the terms of an agreement with Natural Resources Canada and works in collaboration with Indigenous communities, the New Relationship Trust, the Province of BC, FortisBC and BC Hydro.
Contacts
For more information, contact program co-leads for the EPIC Network:
Kevin Good
Program Lead, EPIC Network
Sybil Zhang
Program Lead, EPIC Network
Acknowledgements
Our thanks the New Relationship Trust, the Province of British Columbia’s CleanBC program, BC Hydro and FortisBC for their generous support and guidance for the program.
We acknowledge that the work of the EPIC program has also benefited from leadership by the Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative, which created the Indigenous Climate Action Network, a program that supports Indigenous leadership in climate action for remote communities across the province.
Federal funding for this project is provided by Natural Resources Canada’s Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program, a $1.56-billion program that provides support for smart renewable energy and electrical grid modernization projects, including projects that support capacity building. See also Natural Resource Canada’s media release on funding for the EPIC program.
Top banner image: EEMP program participants at a three-day workshop at BCIT in October 2023 following a series of virtual training sessions. Photo: Darell Gaddie, FBC.
