The little Canadian city that became an inadvertent climate leader
Summerside, P.E.I., is home to renewable energy initiatives like wind farms, solar arrays, a smart grid and more. Photo by David Dodge, The Pembina Institute
By Zack Metcalfe
The tiny city of Summerside, P.E.I., is known for charming waterfronts and hosting the only Walmart on the west end of the Island. It is less renowned as a champion of renewable power.
But wind farms, solar arrays, smart grids, industrial-scale lithium-ion batteries and the highest per capita concentration of electric car chargers in the country are among the clean energy initiatives blossoming in this unassuming municipality.
Summerside, population 14,829, is expected to derive the majority of its electricity from renewable sources by 2022.
Most of it will be produced within city limits.
Big climate goals in Canada's smallest province
Summerside is only the tip of the spear in a province with the most ambitious climate goals in the country. P.E.I. has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2040 and now requires the provincial government to issue yearly reports on risks and progress. Its greenhouse gas emissions were 1,756 kilotonnes of CO2 equivalent (1.756 Mt CO2e) in 2019, and the province was listed among the few that have significantly decreased emissions — a 14 per cent reduction between 2005 and 2019, according to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
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