The fifth edition of Canada’s largest wind, solar and energy-storage operations conference and exhibition galvanizes the operators community.
Toronto, April 17, 2025—More than 325 people assembled in Toronto this week for the fifth annual CanREA’s Operators Summit, Canada’s largest conference and exhibition devoted to the operation of renewable energy and energy storage sites.
“The Operators Summit event brings together wind, solar and energy storage operators to learn from each other and improve how they operate facilities across Canada, making them safer, more resilient and more efficient,” said Vittoria Bellissimo, CanREA’s President and CEO. “This year’s event, taking place at such a pivotal time in Canada’s history, forced our industry to reflect on the strong partnerships we will need to continue growing our industry.”
The Director of CanREA’s Operators Program, Mathieu Côté, put together the conference’s program to appeal to Canada’s operators community, those who manage, operate and maintain this country’s expanding fleet of wind, solar and energy storage assets, delivering the nuts and bolts of Canada’s energy transition.
“Our theme, Engaging Communities, speaks not only to the importance of collaborating with local and Indigenous communities, but also to the strength of the operational community itself. That kind of engagement builds the resilience of our workforce—and helps ensure our wind, solar and energy storage sector is ready for the future,” said Côté.
The strategic panel discussions centered around stakeholder engagement, community considerations in emergency response plans, how we should address our workforce needs going forward—one highlight was the launch of Electricity Human Resources (EHRC)’s new labour market analysis report.
The Summit featured interactive discussions of operators’ experiences in the field and also covered highly technical operations topics, such as optimizing energy storage operations, vegetation management, troubleshooting anomalous gassing in transformers, and bat species protection on wind farms.
“The insights we gained at this year’s Ops Summit will not only inform the operators community across Canada but also help shape the future of CanREA’s Operators program,” said Côté.
CanREA wishes to thank all attendees, exhibitors and event sponsors for helping to make this year’s Operations Summit a success. A special thank you to Health & Safety Sponsor EDF Renewables, Registration Sponsor Nordex, Reception Sponsor Clearlight Energy, Hospitality and Lunch Sponsor Pandell, Mobile App Sponsor Energy Safety Canada, Charging Station Sponsor Goldwind, Bronze Sponsor Pattern Energy and Event Sponsors Aviva, Enercon and Sungrow.
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Photos
Media can contact CanREA for more high-resolution photos. A photo album from the Summit will be available soon, here.
Quotes
“The Operators Summit event brings together wind, solar and energy storage operators to learn from each other and improve how they operate facilities across Canada, making them safer, more resilient and more efficient. This year’s event, taking place at such a pivotal time in Canada’s history, forced our industry to reflect on the strong partnerships we will need to continue growing our industry.”
—Vittoria Bellissimo, President and CEO, Canadian Renewable Energy Association
“Our theme, Engaging Communities, speaks not only to the importance of collaborating with local and Indigenous communities, but also to the strength of the operational community itself. That kind of engagement builds the resilience of our workforce—and helps ensure our wind, solar and energy storage sector is ready for the future. The insights we gained at this year’s Ops Summit will not only inform the operators community across Canada but also help shape the future of CanREA’s Operators program.”
— Mathieu Côté, Operators Program Director, Canadian Renewable Energy Association
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Communications
Canadian Renewable Energy Association
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About CanREA
The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) is the voice for wind energy, solar energy and energy storage solutions that will power Canada’s energy future. We work to create the conditions for a modern energy system through stakeholder advocacy and public engagement. Our diverse members are uniquely positioned to deliver clean, low-cost, reliable, flexible and scalable solutions for Canada’s energy needs. For more information on how Canada can use wind energy, solar energy and energy storage to help achieve its net-zero commitments, consult “Powering Canada’s Journey to Net-Zero: CanREA’s 2050 Vision.” Follow us on Bluesky and LinkedIn. Subscribe to our newsletter here. Learn more at renewablesassociation.ca.