Plugging into Canada’s electricity future at UCalgary

The University of Calgary has launched a new Electricity Centre, positioning itself as a national hub for transdisciplinary outreach, training and research in electricity. The Centre, co-led by Drs. Blake Shaffer and Sara Hastings-Simon, both PhD, aims to advance global leadership and tackle urgent challenges facing modern electricity systems by uniting researchers, practitioners and policymakers to drive innovation, train future leaders and foster cross-sector knowledge exchange.

“As Canada works to modernize its grid, expand clean energy, and meet growing demand from electrification and data-intensive industries, building stronger connections between research and policy is more critical than ever,” explains Shaffer. “Through the work of the Electricity Centre, we will ensure the country’s next generation of researchers are ready to power the conversations — and the decisions — that will shape Canada’s energy future.”

Making the right connections in a complex grid

According to Hastings-Simon and Shaffer, UCalgary is well positioned to become a national leader, uniting academics, industry and policymakers to tackle the complex technical, economic, social and policy challenges posed by growing electricity demand.

“Through the Electricity Centre, we’re building on our global reputation for excellence in energy research, our strong network of partners across disciplines and sectors, and momentum from five years of cross-campus collaboration in electricity,” says Dr. William Ghali, MD, vice-president (research). “The Electricity Centre will build on this foundation to become Canada’s leading centre for electricity knowledge, training and engagement.”

Researchers and external experts interested in participating in, and collaborating with, the Electricity Centre can email electricity.centre@ucalgary.ca or sign up to join the mailing list.

A charged environment for new ideas and partnerships

From launching a new centre to sparking conversations in the Rockies, UCalgary is creating spaces for collaboration at every level. The Electricity Camp in the Rockies is one such forum, convening diverse voices from across sectors to dig into the complex challenges shaping today’s electricity systems.

More than 90 amped-up campers spent two days in May at the fifth iteration of the camp hosted by members of the Electricity Centre, exploring current topics and issues facing the industry, including the rise of data centres, the drive for renewables, infrastructure and market design, featuring international researchers and industry experts.

Presentations and panel discussions from researchers, decision-makers and industry experts at Electricity Camp explored the technical, economic and social aspects of the energy transition in the electricity sector, providing participants with insights into decision making and the benefits of cross-sector collaboration.

“This was my first time attending Electricity Camp, and it was a very inspirational two days connecting with macro-energy systems researchers, industry, system operators, and government,” says Dr. Christine Cao, BSc (Eng), MSc, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Software Engineering and the Sustainable Systems Engineering program in the Schulich School of Engineering. 

“The diverse sets of topics, from China to Alberta, from timely data centres to timeless roles of infrastructure in our society, from engineering to social science, to economics, to policy, are all great reminders that there is so much research to explore in this space, and we have to take a collaborative, transdisciplinary, and system-centred approach in energy transition work.

“Sitting in the conference room and staring out the windows at the expansive Canadian Rockies, I couldn’t help but think that we do this research so our future generations can enjoy the same view,” Cao continues. “As my undergrad students would say, ‘the vibes were immaculate’ at Electricity Camp.”