Ontario Sustainable Energy Association
A nonprofit Ontario organization that promotes renewable energy, conservation, and community-owned sustainable energy projects.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) is a nonprofit sector organization focused on expanding renewable energy, energy conservation, and community power in Ontario, Canada. Rather than operating as a conventional consumer brand or energy utility, OSEA functions as an advocacy, capacity-building, convening, and technical-support organization for communities, municipalities, First Nations, cooperatives, environmental groups, developers, and other participants in the sustainable-energy sector. OSEA was incorporated in 2001 with support from community, environmental, and industrial organizations that wanted a common focal point for advancing community power and integrated sustainable energy. Its central premise is that residents and local institutions should be able to participate directly in developing, owning, and benefiting from energy infrastructure. OSEA has described community power as projects that are owned, developed, or controlled in whole or in significant part by people in the communities where the projects are located. Typical participants include residents, farmers, cooperatives, municipalities, First Nations, schools, community organizations, and other local institutions. The association's policy agenda encompasses renewable generation from sources such as wind, solar, hydro, biomass, tidal, and geothermal resources, as well as conservation, energy efficiency, demand management, combined heat and power, district energy, storage, and smart-grid development. It also supports different forms of public, commercial, and community ownership. This broad definition positions OSEA as an advocate for an integrated energy system rather than for a single generation technology. One of OSEA's most important areas of work has been policy advocacy. The organization promoted an advanced renewable-energy feed-in tariff for Ontario and contributed to the policy environment that led to the Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program. That program later formed part of the policy lineage leading to Ontario's Green Energy and Green Economy Act and its feed-in tariff framework. OSEA also participated in the campaign for the Green Energy Act and supported initiatives involving community, Aboriginal, and municipal energy partnerships, an Aboriginal loan-guarantee program, and the Community Power Fund. OSEA combines advocacy with practical support. Through its Community Power Services Group, it assisted early-stage projects with development financing, project management, community engagement, cooperative formation, permitting-related preparation, and investor outreach. Examples described in reference material include a proposed solar project at the Clippers Sports Complex in Whitchurch-Stouffville, a community solar initiative associated with Kew Beach Public School in Toronto, and a solar project developed by the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Congregation. The association also produced guidebooks and toolkits covering community-power financing, cooperative solar photovoltaic projects, project development, and organizational capacity building. The organization has used conferences, exhibitions, webinars, interviews, workshops, and public education to connect policy makers with practitioners. Its events included the 2008 World Wind Energy Conference in Kingston, Ontario, three Community Power Conferences in Toronto, and the 2014 All-Energy Canada Exhibition and Conference. OSEA has also run feed-in tariff webinars, election-period interview programming, community-power workshops, and conservation and renewable-energy outreach initiatives. OSEA is governed by a board elected by its membership. Reference material describes a board of twelve directors, with four directors elected by members each year, and approximately 130 community and industry members in addition to individual members. Kristopher Stevens led and managed the association from May 2008; earlier leadership included Deborah Doncaster, Paul Gipe, and Gwen Glover. The organization's later operating status, current leadership, membership, and activity level are not established by the supplied sources.
History
The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association emerged in 2001 as a nonprofit coalition-building organization for Ontario's renewable-energy and community-power movement. It was sponsored by community, environmental, and industrial groups seeking to consolidate work that had previously been distributed among different organizations and initiatives. From its beginning, OSEA treated sustainable energy as a combination of clean generation, conservation, efficiency, local ownership, and improved energy-system design. OSEA's distinctive contribution was its focus on community power. The association argued that local residents and institutions should have a meaningful role in developing and owning energy assets, rather than communities serving only as sites for projects financed and controlled elsewhere. Its model included resident groups, farmer cooperatives, municipalities, First Nations, schools, environmental organizations, and other local institutions. OSEA connected this ownership model with economic development, energy security, public participation, and reductions in pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions. Policy advocacy became a major part of the association's work. OSEA advocated an advanced feed-in tariff for renewable energy in Ontario and helped build support for the Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program. The organization later contributed to the broader campaign for a provincial Green Energy Act. That campaign helped create the political and policy context for the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, adopted in 2009, and Ontario's feed-in tariff approach. OSEA also supported community, Aboriginal, and municipal energy partnerships, an Aboriginal loan-guarantee initiative, and the Community Power Fund. The association complemented policy work with practical resources. It prepared guidebooks, manuals, webinars, and workshops for communities and project proponents. These materials addressed subjects including early-stage financing, land and site issues, permitting, legal arrangements, resource assessment, community engagement, cooperative membership, and relations with investors. Its Community Power Services Group provided early project assistance and, in some cases, project-management support. Documented examples included a proposed 250-kilowatt solar installation at the Clippers Sports Complex in Whitchurch-Stouffville, a solar initiative involving Kew Beach Public School in Toronto, and a 25-kilowatt solar project at the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Congregation. In the latter case, OSEA helped the congregation raise the remaining capital through a debenture offering marketed through its network. These projects illustrated OSEA's preference for locally rooted development and community investment. OSEA also established a public and professional presence through conferences and sector events. It co-hosted the 2008 World Wind Energy Conference in Kingston, Ontario, which drew international delegates and served as the launch point for the Green Energy Act Alliance. The association organized or co-organized Community Power Conferences in Toronto and the 2014 All-Energy Canada Exhibition and Conference. Its other activities included feed-in tariff webinars, election-period political interviews, capacity-building workshops, community-power roadshows, and public education involving advertising, video, mapping, and partnership practices. The organization was governed by a membership-elected board described as having twelve directors, with four elected annually. Reference material identifies approximately 130 community and industry members, alongside individual members. Kristopher Stevens led and managed OSEA from May 2008, following earlier leadership by Deborah Doncaster, Paul Gipe, and Gwen Glover. The supplied material does not establish the association's current leadership, current membership, financial position, or whether its website and programs remain active.
- 2014
All-Energy Canada conference
[1]OSEA hosted or co-hosted the All-Energy Canada Exhibition and Conference in Toronto.
- 2009
Green Energy and Green Economy Act
[1]Ontario adopted the Green Energy and Green Economy Act after a campaign in which OSEA was an active participant.
- 2008
World Wind Energy Conference in Kingston
[1]OSEA co-hosted the seventh World Wind Energy Conference in Kingston, where the Green Energy Act Alliance was launched.
- 2007
Renewable-energy policy advocacy gains influence
[1]OSEA's advocacy for an advanced renewable-energy feed-in tariff was associated with the Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program and the development of Ontario's later green-energy policy framework.
- 2001
Incorporation
[1]OSEA was incorporated as a nonprofit organization intended to coordinate advocacy for community power and integrated sustainable energy in Ontario.
Products and positioning
A collaborative Ontario sustainable-energy sector organization emphasizing community ownership, local economic benefits, public participation, policy reform, and practical project development.
Project development support
Community Power Services Group
OSEA's Community Power Services Group supported the early stages of locally owned energy projects. Its documented activities included helping project groups obtain development-stage funding, organizing community and investor participation, and providing project-management assistance. The group worked with cooperatives, schools, congregations, and neighborhood organizations pursuing solar and other community-energy initiatives.
Guidebook
Community Power Financing Guidebook
This resource addressed the practical and financial issues that arise before construction of a community-energy project. Topics included pre-development financing, land acquisition, approvals, contracting, resource assessment, community engagement, and membership development. It was intended to help local proponents understand the risks, costs, and organizational requirements of project preparation in Ontario.
Toolkit
Initiating Your Co-operative Solar PV Community Power Project
OSEA's cooperative solar photovoltaic toolkit was designed for groups considering a community-owned solar project. It provided introductory guidance on organizing a cooperative, identifying a project opportunity, engaging participants, and moving from an initial concept toward development. The toolkit reflected OSEA's emphasis on locally controlled renewable-energy assets.
Workshop program
Community Power Roadmap To Success
This series of hands-on workshops was intended to help established community organizations and institutions evaluate and initiate community solar projects. Participants worked through project opportunities and received foundational guidance on collaboration, development planning, and the tools needed to advance a local energy proposal.
Marketing campaigns
- 2009Green Energy and Green Economy Act campaign
Ontario
OSEA advocated for legislation supporting renewable generation, community participation, and a feed-in tariff framework, working with other organizations to make clean energy and conservation central elements of provincial policy.
Outcome. Ontario adopted the Green Energy and Green Economy Act and implemented a feed-in tariff program.
- 2008Green Energy Act Alliance
Ontario
OSEA helped launch the Green Energy Act Alliance at the World Wind Energy Conference in Kingston. The alliance sought to unite organizations behind conservation and renewable energy as priorities for Ontario's energy policy.
Outcome. The campaign contributed to the political environment that preceded Ontario's Green Energy and Green Economy Act.
- Community power public education campaign
Ontario
OSEA's outreach work used advertising, a renewable-energy video contest, online mapping, and community-engagement guidance to explain conservation and local renewable-energy development.
Brand decisions
2009
Support for the Green Energy and Green Economy ActStrategyBackground
OSEA considered provincial legislation necessary to expand renewable energy, conservation, and community participation in Ontario's energy system.
Action taken
OSEA participated in the campaign for a Green Energy Act and promoted associated community, Aboriginal, and municipal energy measures.
Aftermath
The province adopted the Green Energy and Green Economy Act and established a feed-in tariff framework.
2007
Advocacy for an advanced renewable-energy feed-in tariffStrategyBackground
OSEA sought a policy mechanism that would make it easier for communities and other proponents to develop renewable-energy projects in Ontario.
Action taken
The association promoted an advanced feed-in tariff and related community-power policies through research, stakeholder engagement, and public advocacy.
Aftermath
The advocacy was associated with the Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program and later Ontario feed-in tariff and green-energy legislation.
Recent events
- 2014
All-Energy Canada conference held in Toronto[1]
Other
OSEA hosted or co-hosted the All-Energy Canada Exhibition and Conference in Toronto as part of its sector-convening activities.
- 2009
Ontario Green Energy and Green Economy Act adopted[1]
Regulation · Campaign
The province adopted legislation associated with the policy campaign for expanded renewable energy and a feed-in tariff framework, an agenda OSEA had supported.
- 2008
World Wind Energy Conference held in Kingston[1]
Campaign
OSEA co-hosted the seventh World Wind Energy Conference in Kingston, Ontario, where the Green Energy Act Alliance was launched.
- 2001
Ontario Sustainable Energy Association incorporated[1]
Other
OSEA was incorporated as a nonprofit focal point for community power and integrated sustainable-energy advocacy in Ontario.
Sources2 sources
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