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About the Authors
Tamara Krawchenko, Associate Professor, University of Victoria

Dr. Tamara Krawchenko is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria, where her research focuses on energy transitions, industrial strategy, and climate governance through the lens of regional development and place-based policy. A comparativist by approach, she draws on interdisciplinary frameworks to study how governments at all levels — local, regional, and national — plan and govern complex economic and spatial transitions. Her work spans a wide range of interconnected topics, including spatial and land use planning, infrastructure development, rural and regional development, just transitions, and community energy, reflecting an integrated understanding of how places and economies evolve together.

Dr. Krawchenko serves as Associate Director of the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (IESVic) and Research Lead for Policy and Planning with the Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET) Initiative. She is also a Research Fellow with the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP). She brings extensive international experience, having served as a Policy Analyst/Economist at the OECD’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities in Paris, and continues to provide expert advisory contributions to the OECD, the World Bank, and the Council of Europe across multiple countries and regions.

Dr. Krawchenko’s work bridges rigorous academic scholarship and applied policy practice. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Political Economy from Carleton University.

Maya Willard-Stepan, Research Fellow, University of Victoria

Maya Willard-Stepan is a research fellow working within the Accelerating Community Energy Transformations project at the Institute for Integrated Energy Solutions at the University of Victoria. She holds a Bachelor of Science from McGill University and a Master of Science from UVic. Maya’s research is largely interdisciplinary, taking a systems approach to understanding the socio-ecological and socio-technical aspects of the energy transition. With the opinion that there is no one-size-fits-all method to tackling the many challenges facing the transition to renewable energy, Maya has worked with a range of methods, from energy models to community-based participatory research. Maya’s latest research focuses on a pan-Canadian analysis of community energy policy, drilling down into where communities ‘sit’ in policy, and what are the key levers of policy design during the energy transition.

Nic Jekill, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Victoria

Nicolas holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Alberta College of Art + Design and a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction and Honours in Geography with a Major in Environmental Studies from the University of Victoria. He recently completed a master’s degree at the University of Toronto as part of the CANSTOREnergy project, where his research examined community governance models for locally developed renewable energy infrastructure.

Regional Energy-Economy Planning: A Framework to Accelerate Decarbonization and Support Economic Development

Tamara Krawchenko, Maya Willard-Stepan, Nic Jekill

May 7, 2026

Canada’s energy transition is underway, but without a deliberate strategy to align clean energy investment with regional economic development, the benefits will remain unevenly distributed. Regional energy economy planning offers a framework for turning clean energy investment into a driver of jobs, industrial diversification, and community prosperity, rather than treating the energy transition and economic development as separate agendas.

 

Regional Energy-Economy Planning: A Framework to Accelerate Decarbonization and Support Economic Development draws on international experience to show how energy system transformation can be explicitly tied to regional economic strategies, industrial clustering, and local benefit-sharing.

 

For Canadian governments, the opportunity is clear: clean energy investment is about more than meeting climate targets. With the right planning framework, it can become a deliberate strategy for regional growth and community well-being.

About the Authors
Tamara Krawchenko, Associate Professor, University of Victoria

Dr. Tamara Krawchenko is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria, where her research focuses on energy transitions, industrial strategy, and climate governance through the lens of regional development and place-based policy. A comparativist by approach, she draws on interdisciplinary frameworks to study how governments at all levels — local, regional, and national — plan and govern complex economic and spatial transitions. Her work spans a wide range of interconnected topics, including spatial and land use planning, infrastructure development, rural and regional development, just transitions, and community energy, reflecting an integrated understanding of how places and economies evolve together.

Dr. Krawchenko serves as Associate Director of the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (IESVic) and Research Lead for Policy and Planning with the Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET) Initiative. She is also a Research Fellow with the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP). She brings extensive international experience, having served as a Policy Analyst/Economist at the OECD’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities in Paris, and continues to provide expert advisory contributions to the OECD, the World Bank, and the Council of Europe across multiple countries and regions.

Dr. Krawchenko’s work bridges rigorous academic scholarship and applied policy practice. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Political Economy from Carleton University.

Maya Willard-Stepan, Research Fellow, University of Victoria

Maya Willard-Stepan is a research fellow working within the Accelerating Community Energy Transformations project at the Institute for Integrated Energy Solutions at the University of Victoria. She holds a Bachelor of Science from McGill University and a Master of Science from UVic. Maya’s research is largely interdisciplinary, taking a systems approach to understanding the socio-ecological and socio-technical aspects of the energy transition. With the opinion that there is no one-size-fits-all method to tackling the many challenges facing the transition to renewable energy, Maya has worked with a range of methods, from energy models to community-based participatory research. Maya’s latest research focuses on a pan-Canadian analysis of community energy policy, drilling down into where communities ‘sit’ in policy, and what are the key levers of policy design during the energy transition.

Nic Jekill, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Victoria

Nicolas holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Alberta College of Art + Design and a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction and Honours in Geography with a Major in Environmental Studies from the University of Victoria. He recently completed a master’s degree at the University of Toronto as part of the CANSTOREnergy project, where his research examined community governance models for locally developed renewable energy infrastructure.

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