Title:
Empowering communities: Energy planning by, with, and for the diesel-powered North
Abstract:
Considerable research asserts the challenges of diesel-dependence in remote communities and calls for a rapid transition to renewable energies. Indigenous Knowledge and perspectives are limited in this discourse; even though most off-grid communities are First Nations, Inuit, or Métis. Based on a deep research relationship with Inuit in NunatuKavut, Labrador, Dr. Mercer demonstrates the necessity of community-based approaches to energy planning which center Indigenous rights.
Bio:
Dr. Nick Mercer is a settler-researcher, who recently completed his PhD in Geography at the University of Waterloo. A SSHRC Doctoral Fellow, and WISE-Energy Council of Canada Energy Policy Research Fellow, Nick's research involves energy planning by, with, and for Inuit communities in off-grid diesel-powered Labrador. Awarded a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship within Dalhousie University's School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Nick is currently on work experience leave as he holds the position of Regional Energy Coordinator with Nunatsiavut Government in northern Labrador.
Recent Research:
Mercer, N., Hudson, A., Martin, D., & Parker, P. (2020). “That’s Our Traditional Way as Indigenous Peoples”: Towards a Conceptual Framework for Understanding Community Support of Sustainable Energies in NunatuKavut, Labrador. Sustainability, 12(15), 6050.
Mercer, N., Parker, P., Hudson, A., & Martin, D. (2020). Off-grid energy sustainability in NunatuKavut, Labrador: Centering Inuit voices on heat insecurity in diesel-powered communities. Energy Research & Social Science, 62, 101382.
Media Highlights:
The Telegram. Will renewable power help decarbonize N.L.? (2019). https://www.thetelegram.com/news/local/will-renewable-power-help-decarbonize-nl-331461/
The Independent NL. (2018). Building sustainable energy from the ground up in Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved from https://theindependent.ca/2018/12/12/building-sustainable-energy-from-the-ground-up-in-newfoundland-and-labrador/
The Telegram. (2018). Examining energy security issues in southern Labrador. Retrieved from https://www.thetelegram.com/news/provincial/examining-energy-security-issues-in-southern-labrador-236063/