Funding Programs for Communities

The Province, along with other funding partners, provides funding support for capacity building, planning, energy efficiency, and renewable energy generation. Projects are led by communities and are tailored to individual community needs. 

Community Energy Diesel Reduction (CEDR) 

The Community Energy Diesel Reduction (CEDR) program provides non-repayable funding contributions for renewable energy initiatives to eligible remote communities. These communities are off-grid residential regions that rely on diesel fuel for electricity generation. The program provides a suite of funding for capacity building and planning, energy efficiency projects, and renewable energy generation.   

British Columbia Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative (BCICEI) 

British Columbia Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative (BCICEI) provides funding for First Nations, tribal councils, and organizations majority owned by First Nation communities for energy efficiency projects, feasibility studies, project design and engineering, environmental reviews, and permitting for renewable energy projects. The program supports on-grid and remote and off-grid communities.

In June 2023, the Province announced a contribution of $140 million to the New Relationship Trust to expand the B.C. Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative (BCICEI) and further support small-scale, Indigenous-led clean energy projects. Interest earned from the endowment is now being used to support existing BCICEI funding streams; please refer to the New Relationship Trust website for more information. 

The Province, New Relationship Trust, BC Hydro, and PacifiCan are developing a new program stream to help offset the higher anticipated cost of small-scale power projects (e.g. < 15 MW in size) relative to large-scale projects (e.g. 30-50 MW in size). Once implemented in 2028, the new program stream is expected to draw down the $140 million over several years.

The BCICEI program development team intends to release a discussion paper on the new funding stream in spring 2024. There will be opportunities to provide feedback on the discussion paper. More information will be posted here, when available.

The Indigenous Climate Action Network (I-CAN)  

The Indigenous Climate Action Network (I-CAN) program offers funding for remote Indigenous communities to hire, train, and mentor full-time Climate Action Coordinators. Coordinators support the planning and implementation of energy efficiency, renewable energy generation, and climate change adaptation projects for their communities.  

Energy Peers in Indigenous Communities (EPIC)  

The Energy Peers in Indigenous Communities (EPIC) network is a program to build capacity, knowledge, and skills related to renewable energy in Indigenous communities in B.C. The program supports a cohort of participants (called Community Energy Champions) with a peer-to-peer cohort and peer mentorship approach to building and sharing knowledge, networking and engagement, skills development, and training on renewable energy.