Renewable Energy Co-operatives (REC) in Canada have created opportunities to reduce carbon emissions while enhancing community connectedness and local economic development. However, RECs also face formidable barriers, including capacity issues and volunteer burnout. One potential path forward to addressing those capacity issues is having RECs come together to form a second-tier organization, often referred to as a league or federation, owned by RECs to create shared services amongst the sector. While there is currently no league representing RECs in Canada, we can look to Europe to better understand the role and potential of leagues. In this talk, Dirk Vansintjan, President of REScoop – the European federation of citizen energy cooperatives, will share the historical and current context of RECs in Europe and how REScoop was formed, and the roles REScoop play for local RECs.
About our speaker
Dirk Vansintjan is regarded as a legend in the community energy movement in Europe. He co-founded multiple community energy cooperatives, including Ecopower (1991), the Organisatie voor Duurzame Energie Vlaanderen, ODE-Vlaanderen, (in 1996), and REScoop.be (2010-2020). Dirk has been the President of the RESCoop.eu since its inception in 2013.
Event Information
Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm (Saskatchewan time or Central Standard Time)
Join us on Zoom! Please register by clicking here and the connection details will be sent by email.
This discussion series is proudly supported by:
JSGS Centre for the Study of Co-operatives
Alberta Community & Co-operative Association
International Centre for Co‑operative Management, Saint Mary’s University
#RECLEAGUE
Event Details
- When:
- Time:
- 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM CST
- Location:
- This event is being hosted through Zoom. A link and password will be sent to the email provided when you register online.