Sault Ste. Marie is one of three communities to receive a provincial award for its energy conservation efforts.
The Community Conservation Awards is a collaborative effort of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA). The awards “celebrate the leadership and innovation that municipalities across the province are demonstrating to support province-wide conservation goals.”
The Sault, along with Burlington and South-West Oxford (near London), was recognized for demonstrating strong achievement in conservation leadership, innovation and market transformation, and corporate/internal and community engagement.
The winners represent population categories of up to 50,000, 50,000 to 150,000, and over 150,000.
The awards are open to all cities, towns and municipalities in Ontario. Participating municipalities were required to provide a written submission that outlined their conservation efforts, as well as a recent case study highlighting a specific conservation initiative undertaken in their community.
Sault Ste. Marie promotes itself as the “alternative energy capital of North America” and has actively pursued initiatives related to renewable energy. It is home to one of the largest wind farms in Canada, along with a solar panel manufacturing plant and hydroelectric, cogeneration and biodiesel initiatives.
