This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to collect information about how you interact with our website and allow us to remember your browser. We use this information to improve and customize your browsing experience, for analytics and metrics about our visitors both on this website and other media, and for marketing purposes. By using this website, you accept and agree to be bound by UVic’s Terms of Use and Protection of Privacy Policy.  If you do not agree to the above, you can configure your browser’s setting to “do not track.”

Skip to main content
People Departments Maps Buildings Rooms A-Z
University
of Victoria
Apply Library
Sign in Online tools Sign out
Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET)

Community Energy Finance Navigator

Navigator Visual

The Community Energy Finance Navigator shows the different financing pathways of community-led clean energy projects in Canada in a format that is accessible, informative and easy to understand. 

Across the country, communities are developing solar, wind, marine and other renewable energy projects. But the way these projects are financed—who provides capital, how projects are owned, and what outcomes they deliver—is often difficult to find and compare. 

The Navigator brings this information together on one open-source platform. By collecting project-level data from community energy teams, it shows how financing structures, ownership models, and partnerships support project development. 

Through interactive dashboards, users can explore patterns across regions, technologies, and project sizes. This helps communities learn from each other, identify viable financing approaches, and better understand how different capital stacks—such as grants, loans, and community investment—enable successful projects. 

By linking financing decisions to real-world outcomes such as local job creation, greenhouse gas reductions and other community benefits, the platform also supports more informed and equitable clean energy development while identifying gaps that limit growth. 

As the first Canadian platform to track and visualize capital flows into community-led clean energy projects, the Community Energy Finance Navigator will strengthen the alignment between funding structures and community needs—helping accelerate a more inclusive and effective energy transformation.

Milestones

  • July 2025: Launched a 50+ question survey on community energy financing, ownership structures, community benefits and learning needs for project teams.
  • Nov. 2025 - Jan 2026: Collated and verified initial survey results from contributors across Canada to create the first project dataset, which includes 86 projects representing $3.1B in funding. Surveys are ongoing.
  • Jan. 2026: Launched case study interviews with project leaders, community members, First Nations and local government actors. 
  • Feb. 2026: Finalized platform design and began implementing initial dataset for dashboard piloting. Database will be frequently updated with ongoing survey results.
  • April 2026: Finalized core modules for public release, including Capital Explorer, Ownership Models, Outcomes and Impacts and Project Explorer map.
  • May 2026: Platform pilot launch in a public webinar with expert commentary from Lynne Couves (Pembina Institute), Merran Smith (New Economy Canada) and Chris Henderson (Indigenous Clean Energy).

People

  • Basma Majerbi, University of Victoria, Project Lead   
  • Samantha Treacy, Data Analyst and Digital Platform Developer
  • Pavel Soriano Hernandez, PhD Candidate, Lead Researcher  
  • Jeff Scanlon, University of Victoria, Research Associate
  • Julie MacArthur, Royal Roads University, Research Collaborator 
  • Tamara Krawchenko, University of Victoria, Research Committee Member 
  • Dave Atkinson, University of Victoria, Research Committee Member 
  • Laurel Sabur, University of Victoria, Research Manager  

Contributors

The Navigator is strengthened through collaboration with people and organizations that support community energy across Canada. We would like to thank the following for their contributions, including survey design feedback and distribution, and platform testing:  

  • Nicu Zaharia, University of Victoria   
  • Jennifer Young, University of Victoria  
  • Clean Energy BC   
  • Community Energy Association (CEA)  
  • BC Climate Action Secretariat  
  • Indigenomics Institute  
  • Raven Indigenous Outcomes Fund  
  • Pembina Institute  
  • Indigenous Clean Energy  
  • Energy Futures Lab  
  • First Nations Major Projects Coalition  

Get Involved

Want to get involved in the Community Energy Finance Navigator? 

If you’re leading a project, you can add it to the database by filling out the survey.

If you’re part of a network or organization, you can partner with us to help expand the database and improve the Navigator for communities across Canada by emailing majerbi@uvic.ca.