City of Brampton
Community Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan (CEERP)
In late 2017, the City of Brampton teamed with Sheridan College and their strategic partner, Garforth International, to develop a comprehensive Community Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan that would support their “Brampton 2040 Vision”. The CEERP includes goals to meet the Federal and Provincial climate mitigation expectations, attract new investments and retain and create high-quality employment. From 2018 to 2020 the team completed the detailed mapping of the City’s homes and buildings for energy use, supply, emissions, and costs over 39 Energy Planning Districts (EPDs) across all neighbourhoods for the Baseline year of 2016 and assessed year-by-year to 2051 for the Base Case based on BAU and growth projections. A detailed assessment of the transportation energy and climate impacts was also completed.
The team completed the integrated analysis, including simulating comprehensive measures that would meet or exceed the City’s overall energy and climate goals. The final CEERP was approved by City Council in September 2020. The comprehensive mapping and simulation approach adopted by Brampton has been presented and well received at multiple high profile conferences including: 2018 World Energy Engineering Congress in Charlotte, North Carolina; 2019 National Committee for Science and the Environment Annual Meeting in Washington, DC; 2019 World Energy Engineering Congress, Washington, DC; 2019 Euroheat & Power Congress, Nantes, France; 2020 Improving Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings Conference, European Union Virtual Conference; 2020 AEE World Conference, International Virtual Conference.
Heritage Heights Secondary Plan Energy and Emissions Study
The Heritage Heights CEP was commissioned to identify a pathway to achieving a near net zero future for the Heritage Heights Community with much less reliance on fossil fuels for the heating and cooling of buildings and for transportation, and a greater focus on locally generated renewable energy.
Community energy planning considers all local energy flows that impact activities within a community, from supply through distribution to its end use by consumers. CEPs, developed under the leadership of municipal governments, are a standardized and structured approach to transformative urban emission reductions and enhanced energy system resilience in communities across Canada. However, their application at the secondary planning level is a relatively new practice.
In addition to identifying actions to reduce energy use, emissions and cost, community energy planning can help a community anticipate and prepare for changes in the energy marketplace outside their direct influence. A good example would be the rapid transition in the market from gasoline and diesel internal combustion vehicles to battery and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
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The Heritage Heights CEP informs the Heritage Heights Secondary Plan and the development approvals process to deliver significant reductions in GHG emissions compared to a typical suburban community in Ontario. The development of the Heritage Heights community is the equivalent of building a medium-sized Canadian city, with between 100,000 and 200,000 residents expected when fully built out. Building a climate-friendly community provides Brampton with an opportunity to lead the transformation of city building in Ontario and Canada. The CEP project findings will also inform future planning studies within the City of Brampton.
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Source: City of Brampton Planning & Development Committee Recommendation Report, June 5, 2020
