Over 20 years of a rapidly changing scene amongst organizations committed to accelerating a transition away from fossil fuels, BCSEA has not swayed from our dedication to scientific and fact based education and advocacy and remains a valuable organization to this province. 

Following the Covid -19 pandemic, two of our annual, in-person events were restarted this year.  For the first time since 2019, Energy Connections took place in September at the Steamworks Brewpub in Vancouver.  Though not the large-scale event we have produced in the past, we were honored to have Curran Crawford, Executive Director of ACET, present ‘Accelerating Community Energy Transformation’, and BCSEA Board Director and solar expert, Brian Douglas presenting on ‘The State of Solar Electricity in BC’.  Our goal is a much larger Energy Connections for 2025 – stay tuned for information in the new year! Additionally, our Metro Vancouver Chapter held another successful ‘Women in Sustainable Energy’ (WiSE) evening.  This was the 6th annual event and the WiSE team will soon be planning for next year.

In September, BCSEA participated in Everything Electric Canada, where attendees learned more about our organization. Board Member, Brian Douglas joined a panel to present ‘ Why are Wind, Solar and Storage likely to be the big needle movers.’ During this three-day event, we celebrated our 20th anniversary, gave recognition to our founder, long service directors, and volunteers, and our first BCSEA magazine was launched in both hard copy and digital!

After six years as a Director on the BCSEA provincial board and serving as the liaison for the Greater Victoria Chapter, I will be stepping down in November.  My time on the board has been a very interesting and valuable experience for me.  Board members work hard to achieve a remarkable cohesion where we hear each other’s opinions, work as a team, support each other, and achieve our goals!  I leave board meetings feeling encouraged and motivated that BCSEA is making great progress with our vision of ‘ leading the conversation that drives BC towards a sustainable energy transition’.  And so, after leaving the board, I will continue to volunteer for BCSEA with the Victoria Chapter and continue helping improve our website.  

And this also gives me the chance to bring up the fact that our Board Call closes today, October 22.   If this interests you, find more information here.   Lastly, membership, both individual and business, is an integral part of BCSEA.  Please support the BCSEA to allow us to continue to do the work we do.

Paul Rasmussen

BCSEA Board Director and Victoria Chapter Liaison