Climate funding for fuel cells, home resiliency, education and other PEI projects

Islanders are working on 16 new and innovative projects as we deal with climate change, thanks to PEI’s climate challenge fund, and government is now calling for new applications.

The goal of the Climate Challenge Fund is to empower people of different backgrounds, experiences, and expertise, who work across sectors and in different communities throughout the Island, to contribute to climate action in any or all of the following areas

• adapting to projected impacts of climate change;
• reducing greenhouse gas emissions;
• increasing opportunities for carbon sequestration (the removal and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere);
• building capacity and resilience through public outreach and education; and/or
• expanding climate change research and knowledge.

For this year, the fund has been increased by over $450,000 with the support of the Climate Action and Awareness Fund, through the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund. Together with the province’s support, this year’s Climate Challenge Fund supports research, educational materials and bringing new clean technologies to market.

Since 2020, the Climate Challenge Fund has provided $1 million annually to help organizations develop solutions to address climate change. The Fund has supported 76 projects to date across sectors and organization types, including First Nations, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, local businesses and academic institutions in Prince Edward Island. Interested groups can apply online for the next round of funding.

Quotes:

“Our government is steadfast in responding to climate change with Island ingenuity and the best scientific research. Our community partners are on the ground developing solutions to face climate change in Prince Edward Island and we are proud to support them in this important work for our future.”

-    Hon. Steven Myers, Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Action, Government of Prince Edward Island.

“Each of us has a role to play in reducing our footprint by switching to more energy-efficient and low-carbon solutions that cut polluting emissions and save money. By investing in local solutions, we are building a cleaner, more resilient economy for generations to come.”
-    The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada

Supporting community-based climate action is one priority of the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund’s Climate Action and Awareness Fund. Projects funded under this priority aim to develop knowledge, tools, and/or skills that engage communities in climate action in order to help support Canada’s climate goals, including net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Environmental Damages Fund is administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Media contact:
Katie Cudmore
Environment, Energy and Climate Action
902-314-3996
katiecudmore@gov.pe.ca

Backgrounder:

2024 Climate Challenge Fund Recipients

Around the Table

• Documentation of the link between food security, climate change and community action through a  documentary, discussion guide and community events to explore how communities can act to address these vulnerabilities.         
• Recipient: Atlantic Food Action Coalition

 A.I. Driven Zoning Solutions

• Leveraging of cutting-edge machine learning techniques to inform a data-driven decision-making tool for optimal energy efficiency and climate-sensitive urban design
• Recipient: UPEI - Dr. Kuljeet Grewal

Adapting Renewable Energy to Mitigate Climate Challenge    

• Evaluation of the impacts of extreme weather events in PEI on renewable energy generation and grid integration.
• Recipient: Wind Energy Institute of Canada (WEICan)

Mitigating GHGS and Enhancing Circularity in the PEI Construction Industry

• Exploration of PEI’s construction industry, material usage, waste production, and design practices to identify circular material opportunities, quantification of embodied GHG reductions, and establishment of recommendations for reducing PEI’s GHG emissions in this industry.
• Recipient: UPEI – Dr. Stephanie Shaw

Atmospheric Methane Mitigation Initiative    

• Demonstration of a safe, economically and technically feasible approach to removing methane and pollutants from the air
• Recipient: Inversion Point Technologies Ltd.

Seawater-Based Mining for High-Purity Lithium Production    

• Validation of the feasibility of using seawater as the exclusive raw material for obtaining high-purity lithium by electrochemical approach, and develop a lab-scale extraction setup.
• Recipient: UPEI – Dr. Yulin Hu

Adaptation and Mitigation Through Renewables

• Installation of 220 solar panels onto Raspberry Point’s processing facility, to generate nearly 40% of clean energy needed for the facility.
• Recipient: Raspberry Point Oyster Co. (2023) Inc.

Medium Wind Turbines

• Planning and development to deploy 100-kW wind turbine platform.
• Recipient: Frontier Power Systems Inc.

Home Flood Protection Rebate Program and Workshops    

• Re-establishment of the City of Charlottetown’s Home Flood Protection Rebate Program and implement a new stream reserved for income qualified residents.
• Recipient: City of Charlottetown

Climate Risk Assessment and Adaptation Plan    

• Development of a comprehensive climate risk assessment and adaptation plan for Charlottetown Airport.
• Recipient: Charlottetown Airport Authority Inc.

Improve Wastewater Management and Treatment Operations by removing Rain and Flood Waters From the Sewer System    

• Incentivizing utility customers to disconnect their sump pump from their sanitary sewer service to remove clean water from the sanitary sewer system thereby reducing energy and providing environmental and economic benefits to the community.
• Recipient: Town of Stratford

Resilient Communities Initiative    

• Expansion of programming for three signature events, The River Clyde Pageant, Sharing the Field, and the River Clyde Solstice Walk, to increase ecological literacy, resiliency and wellbeing amid the climate crisis through outdoor, climate-engaged arts programming
• Recipient: River-Clyde Arts

 Development of Climate Change Resource Package for grades K-12    

• Development of an educational resource package about climate change for K-12 teachers with accurate and straightforward information about climate change made available to all schools in PEI and the general public through an online platform.
• Recipient: UPEI – Dr. Xander Wang    

Mobile Hydrogen (Plug & Play) POD

• Design, engineering and building a Mobile Hydrogen Plug & Play Pod for temporary green power application, via fuel cell, for hard to de-carbonize sectors like construction, music events and festivals and to supply power in emergency situations.
• Recipient: RE-FUEL Renewable Fuels Inc.

Your Port in a Storm: Improving Climate Resiliency at Home    

• Development of a home climate resiliency campaign to promote the actions and products that the people of PEI can adopt to protect their homes and property with a portal for practical, actionable information on how tenants and homeowners can better prepare for and mitigate climate hazards at the household level.
• Recipient: Scout Environmental

Energy Efficiency Sessions for Homeowners

• Delivery of free sessions for homeowners on everything from foundations to attic insulation to help them create more comfortable living spaces and save hundreds of dollars from being wasted in escaping energy.
• Recipient: Canadian Home Builders Association (PEI) Inc

More information on these projects is available at Climate Challenge Fund Projects