3.1.11Education for the development industry, architects, engineers, building inspectors, and trades on deep energy building upgrades and working with technologies such as heat pumps and solar

A better informed building industry is able to plan for and provide renovations that lead to low-emission buildings.

This action will be led by WR Community Energy, in collaboration with educational institutions, industry and trades organizations.

WR COMMUNITY ENERGY

As noted in the WR Community Energy (WRCE) 2022 Progress Report, WRCE provides ongoing community support and connects with community and professional groups to develop partnerships, deliver presentations and provide strategic advice on energy topics.

Leveraging their knowledge of infrastructure, policies, and energy sources and sinks, WRCE provides strategic advice at the early stages of property development. Currently, as of 2022 WRCE's work is about matching local energy sources with relevant policies and technologies. WRCE hosts “Lunch and Learn” modules for planning, architectural, and development firms, and are in the planning stages of “energy innovation concierge”, which aims to remove early barriers for new community energy technologies.

The next steps of this action can be tied to the ongoing development of Green Development Standards (GDS) for Waterloo Region. As of end of 2022 WRCE has completed phase 1 and began phase 2 of GDS. For an introduction to GDS on the WRCE webpage please see here.