Firm News
Advancing Clean Energy Infrastructure With Natural Resources Canada
Thursday, June 22, 2023
At Slate, we strive to make our properties healthy and resilient places where tenants have access to amenities that are modern, convenient, and sustainable.
Successfully sustaining these spaces requires forward thinking and continuous investments in making them better, stronger, and more resource efficient.
Part of this mandate includes investing in clean energy infrastructure, such as electric vehicle (EV) charging, which can help to reduce carbon emissions at our buildings. Our investment in EV technology across our properties reflects our belief in the value this source of energy provides to our communities. We’re proud to offer EV chargers as an accessible amenity to our tenants – one that encourages and supports their sustainable behaviours.
Today, we are pleased to announce that Slate has been selected to receive an investment of more than $250,000 through Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP), to support the installation of 89 Level 2 chargers across our various properties throughout Canada.
To build on Canada’s broad network of EV chargers, on May 26, 2023, the Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, announced support for 30 Ontario-based organizations to help install up to 1,908 Level 2 and 100 Level 3 chargers. These new EV chargers will be installed at multi-use residential buildings, public places, fleets, and workplaces. The Government of Canada is also providing funding toward five existing EV projects with delivery organizations, to redistribute funding to help install up to 1,328 new EV chargers.
That announcement represents nearly $25 million in federal investments provided through NRCan’s ZEVIP, and the Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative. With additional funding provided by the 30 organizations and their partners, the total of these investments has grown to over $35 million.
With contributions from NRCan, we can continue to make tangible progress toward a more sustainable future. These chargers will be installed in our communities in Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, providing tenants of multi-use residential, office, and public spaces with access to sustainable, clean energy to power electric vehicles from coast to coast.
This funding from NRCan builds on our recent investments in EV charging infrastructure through our global infrastructure investment strategy, which targets infrastructure assets advancing the global energy transition and driving reductions in carbon emissions associated with our cities and communities.
In 2021, we announced a pilot partnership with IBI Group and SWTCH Energy to explore the viability of vehicle-to-grid charging technology in multi-tenant commercial buildings. This partnership has powered over 1,800 hours of EV charging at our 55 St. Clair West property in Toronto. In 2022, we acquired a majority stake in amperio GmbH, a specialist planner and operator of EV charging infrastructure across Germany. To date, together with amperio, we have installed 14 charging stations and 56 charging points across three German regions.
We look forward to building on our commitment to integrate clean energy technologies across our portfolio and will continue to seek opportunities to make sustainable transportation infrastructure more accessible to our tenants and communities.