Friday June 23, 2017

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In this year in which we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canadian confederation, Bullfrog is proud to reflect on what the bullfrogpowered community has accomplished together throughout the years.

Made up of thousands of homes and businesses across Canada who are choosing green power, the bullfrogpowered community is working together to create a future powered by renewable energy. Through the support of our customers, Bullfrog supports the development of community-based renewable energy projects across Canada. We’re working with communities from coast to coast to coast to provide critical early-stage funding for green energy projects – such as solar panels on schools and community centres and renewable projects with Indigenous communities.

To date, Bullfrog Power has provided funding to more than 115 community-based green energy projects across Canada. In addition to helping bring new renewable power online, Bullfrog’s commitment to new green energy projects is creating powerful social impacts. These include:

• Giving increased support to geographically isolated Indigenous communities reliant on diesel fuel as they transition to energy independence, using the natural resources that surround them.
• Providing young men and women confidence as they receive training on renewable technologies, skills that will help them gain employment and security in the years to come.
• Empowering communities as they are validated that their efforts to work together to create healthier energy systems are coming to fruition.
• Inspiring children—who are often able to learn firsthand about harnessing energy from the sun and wind—as they watch projects come to life in front of them.

Here are a couple of examples of the projects we’ve helped fund so far to make Canada a better place together with green energy:

Northern Village of Green Lake

The Northern Village of Green Lake, a historically Métis and First Nations community located 300 km north of Saskatoon, installed 96 solar panels on the roof of their community hall this spring. The project is the community’s first step in an effort to invest in renewable energy in what is hoped to be a larger solar initiative that aims to eventually provide much of the electrical power needs of the village.

Learn more about Green Lake’s solar project here.

Lubicon Lake Band Piitapan Solar Project

With hopes of a cleaner future, the Lubicon Lake Band built the Piitapan Solar Project: an 80-panel installation in the community. Today, the Piitapan project feeds clean, green energy into the community’s health centre, and ensures renewable energy will be available for the community’s future generations. Support from Bullfrog customers provided the initial funding for the 80-panel installation.

Watch a video on the Piitapan Solar Project here.

You can see a map of the renewable energy projects the bullfrogpowered community is supporting here.

While 2017 marks the 150^th anniversary of confederation, we recognize and respect that there are many Canadians whose communities and ancestors have been here for far longer. We are proud to be working together with Indigenous Peoples to help advance renewable energy in their communities across Canada.

Bullfrog Power is committed to working toward reconciliation by acknowledging the ongoing legacies of colonialism and working in our capacity as a renewable energy provider to enable communities to achieve greater independence through the adoption of renewable energy alternatives. We also believe that it is essential to recognize the champions we work with in Indigenous communities across Canada who are helping to transition to cleaner forms of energy and providing inspiring examples of what can be achieved when we all work toward the common goal of addressing the impacts of climate change. This is especially important because the impacts of climate change are being disproportionately felt by remote, northern and Indigenous communities.

Looking back shows us how far we’ve come, but also reinforces the need for continued progress in green energy to keep our country healthy and beautiful. Want to join the bullfrogpowered community and help create a future powered by renewable energy? Learn more here.

Lead photo: Bullfrog’s Dave Borins with Chief Patrick Michell, Chief of Kanaka Bar Indian Band, at the Kanaka Bar Indian Band solar project.