On February 9th, 2010, John Beaton, S-HRDA Consultant travelled to Ottawa ON to participate in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Sustainable Communities Conference. John was asked by Natural Resources Canada to facilitate a session on best practices for Energy Asset Mapping on February 11.

Pictured above, right is S-HRDA's John Beaton leading a group of municipal representatives in identifying and mapping potential energy sources, including renewable energy, waste heat, and industrial synergies as well as transit planning.

Present in this session were approximately sixty participants including municipal leaders, and staff from across Canada. Energy Asset Mapping (EAM) is a new concept that is a fundamental step to community energy planning. The Strait-Highlands Region includes municipalities that are among the first in Canada to successfully utilise EAM as a tool to pursue potential renewable energy opportunities. The mapping exercise also included sustainable transit planning and holistic community planning.

The Energy Asset Mapping session was part of a larger four day conference for municipal leaders. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Sustainable Communities Conference and Trade Show connects municipal decision makers to leading examples of sustainable development, training opportunities and resources for greening local communities.

Check out the new NRCan CanMet Energy Asset Mapping Site.