Our Blog

As an emergency physician, OREC member Dr. Nicolas Chagnon sees the health impacts of heat waves and wildfire smoke firsthand. He argues that rooftop solar—paired with battery storage—shouldn’t be a luxury for a few, but a nationwide strategy to cut costs, boost resilience, create jobs, advance Reconciliation, and help Canada meet its climate goals.

OREC has made recommendations to the province for advancing community-owned renewable energy and storage. This post highlights ten key policy and regulatory changes needed in 2025 — from expanding net metering and community solar, to ensuring public and co-op participation in large-scale renewable projects.

After nearly a year, OREC is back with our biggest investment opportunity yet. Help fund Eastern Ontario’s largest rooftop solar array—and more clean energy projects to come.

OREC welcomed local MP Bruce Fanjoy to tour our flagship museum solar project, celebrating progress in community-owned renewable energy.

“Go solar and save” and “Get up to $5,000 back.” Sounds great, right? Consumers could be forgiven for thinking that the Home Renovation...

A new national report just launched by the Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives (CECC) offers the first-ever snapshot of how...

Hydro Ottawa’s new rate plan includes big spending—but little action on local clean energy. Despite calls to adopt a modern “DSO” model that uses solar, storage, and other community solutions to reduce costs, the utility offers few concrete plans. OREC is calling for transparency and real investment in distributed energy. Read our blog and take action to push for a smarter, more affordable grid.

Nova Scotia just approved a 2.2 MW community solar garden—exactly the kind of project we can’t do in Ontario today. Their Community Solar Program lets everyday residents subscribe to local clean energy, no rooftop needed. It’s simple, scalable, and a model we urgently need here too.

Ontario’s new Local Generation Program could be a game-changer for community power. It would extend the life of existing solar and wind projects and support new, larger-scale renewable energy—owned by communities, for communities. We’ve shared our thoughts with the IESO.

OREC is tripling the size of its rooftop installation at the Canada Museum of Science & Technology — our largest solar project yet! This expansion marks a return to new builds and adds 660 kW to our portfolio.

Discover how OREC empowers Canadians to make impactful, ethical investments in local solar energy projects — with stable returns and real environmental benefits.

OREC's advocacy is shaping Ottawa’s energy future. Read the IESO’s response to our push for local, sustainable energy solutions.

Allowing shared solar credits across meters could cut costs for co-ops & condos. Let’s fix Ontario’s net metering regulations.

OREC advocates for community-led renewable energy, proposing policy changes to enable local, resilient energy solutions

Ontario's new energy program offers $10K for solar & batteries—but bans net-metering. A win for the grid, but a loss for homeowners. Why?