Grace Brown is a senior analyst in the Pembina Institute's electricity program. Her work focuses on regulatory reform and utility business model innovation to enable greater integration of renewables and a just energy transition. Prior to joining the institute, Grace worked in the solar energy industry for over five years and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer for two years in Sichuan, China.
Grace holds a bachelor's degree in speech, language, and hearing sciences from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and an MA in international development with a concentration in environmental policy from the University of Denver. In her free time, she can be found exploring new hiking and camping spots with her husband and dog or attempting to recreate tasty recipes from her travels.
Grace Brown's Recent Publications
Transforming the Utility Business Model Options to improve services and opportunities for clean energy in remote communities
Supporting Workers and Communities in a Coal Phase-out Lessons learned from just transition efforts in Canada
Phasing out energy generated by coal is central to achieving Canada’s target of net-zero electricity sector emissions by 2035 and a net-zero economy by 2050. But as Canada transitions to clean energy to deliver on these commitments, coal workers and local communities will be highly vulnerable to potential job losses and economic hardship. However, our report shows that clean energy jobs will rise signficantly offsetting those losses with the right policies and support systems in place.
Progress from Coal to Clean Comparing Canadian electric utilities’ approaches to energy transition
This report charts the progress made by utilities in Canada’s four remaining coal-burning provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia) as they transition from coal to cleaner energy. It explains in detail the indicators used to evaluate utility transition approaches, provides data collection methodology, and presents a narrative of the differing approaches utilities are taking to complete this energy transition.
From Coal to Clean Canada’s progress toward phasing out coal power
Countries, utilities and financial institutions are seeking to phase out coal as part of a commitment to a net-zero economy by 2050, which in developed countries requires a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. This report shows the policies used in Ontario and Alberta can inform the coal phase-out in the Canadian provinces still burning coal, and warns that replacing coal with unabated natural gas could undermine emissions reductions and thwart efforts toward net-zero power by 2035.