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The Government of Canada Announces New Intake for Clean Electricity Program With $500 Million in Additional Funding

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TORONTO, Oct. 10, 2024 /CNW/ – The Government of Canada is supporting Canadian utilities and system operators that are working to clean their electricity, integrate clean solutions such as utility storage systems and micro grids, and meet the demands of increased electrification at the least cost to rate payers. These measures are enabling clean growth and ensuring a healthier environment for our communities. Canada’s electricity systems will be the backbone of Canada’s clean economy and central to our efforts to fight climate change and build a more prosperous economy for Canadian workers and businesses. 

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources announced up to $500 million in funding for the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways program (SREPs) Utility Support Stream. SREPs was recapitalized with nearly $2.9 billion in Budget 2023 and supports clean electricity infrastructure — such as renewable energy technologies, energy storage and grid modernization technologies — that strengthen the electricity grid. Through the program, the federal government will support even more clean electricity projects.

This latest round of the SREPs program is launching its first of several intake processes today. The Request for Expressions of Interest for the Utility Support Stream (USS) is now open to utilities, system operators and industry organizations seeking to modernize to enable greater renewable energy integration or expand transmission and distribution systems while maintaining reliability and affordability. This represents an additional step in the Government of Canada’s work to support provinces and territories, as well as electricity operators, to achieve a clean grid in line with industry and government goals. This work — which reflects mutual objectives reached through the Regional Energy and Resources Tables — is injecting much-needed funds into the Canadian electricity sector to modernize and future-proof grids as they withstand growing populations, high demand and increasing extreme weather events.

Projects funded under the USS will:

improve the utilization and efficiency of existing assets;increase the reliability, resiliency, and flexibility of the power system;increase the integration and use of renewable resources and non-conventional infrastructure solutions;generate economic and social benefits; andhelp accommodate growing demand for clean and affordable electricity.

More intake processes for other types of projects will be launched over the next few months.  

Today’s announcement took place at the University of Toronto, host of Canada’s future first grid modernization centre that previously benefited from $10 million in federal government funding, where the Minister also took the opportunity to announce the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s Energy and Climate Strategies Project, which previously received $768,750 in SREPs funding to complete studies and to explore renewable technologies, including geothermal, solar photovoltaic (PV), solar thermal, microgrid and battery storage. Investments like this lead to renewable energy projects that clean the air in our communities.

The Government of Canada is taking every step to build a clean, reliable and affordable electricity system across the country.

Quotes

“By making historic investments in clean electricity, this government is positioning Canadians to take advantage of the economic opportunities presented by the clean economy, now and into the future. The Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways program is already providing Canadian communities across the country with affordable and clean power while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I am pleased to celebrate the ongoing successes of this program and to announce the opening of the Utility Support Stream as of today. This next step will allow us to support even more projects as we work with provinces, territories, Indigenous governments and non-governmental partners as we work toward our common goal of an energy-efficient and money-saving clean grid. I look forward to seeing the results of this new funding as it improves energy infrastructure from coast to coast to coast.”

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

“The support from the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways program has been pivotal in helping the YMCA of Greater Toronto enhance our charity’s sustainability efforts. The funding allowed us to complete critical studies that will lead to the implementation of renewable energy solutions across our facilities, including geothermal energy. This marks a major step in reducing our carbon footprint and building a more resilient future.”  

Lesley Davidson, President and CEO
YMCA of Greater Toronto

Quick Facts

Launched in 2021, SREPs works with provinces, territories and Indigenous Peoples to support critical regional priority projects that reduce dependence on fossil fuel generation and create pathways for a stronger electricity grid system. The program also incorporates transmission and distribution infrastructure and continues to support grid modernization activities, energy storage and Indigenous-led clean energy projects. The SREPs critical regional priorities stream (CRP) identifies projects through continuous engagement directly with the provincial or territorial representatives and existing work being done by the Regional Energy and Resource Tables.

Since 2021, SREPs has approved funding for 72 projects, enabling the deployment of approximately 2,700 megawatts of new renewable energy capacity, which will produce enough electricity to power 700,000 homes annually and displace over 3.1 megatonnes of CO2e per year. 

Budget 2023 re-capitalized SREPs with an additional ~$2.9 billion over 13 years starting in 2023–24. This builds on $1.56 billion (from Budgets 2021 and 2022) to support the de-carbonization of the electricity sector and enable a clean grid. This approximately $4.5-billion program is designed to significantly reduce emissions and create sustainable jobs by continuing to support the deployment of grid modernization, energy storage and renewables in every region of Canada. 61 percent of approved deployment projects to date have Indigenous ownership.SREPs is actively supporting Canada’s ongoing transition to a net-zero economy by 2050.Last year, the Government of Canada released Powering Canada Forward, its vision for transforming Canada’s electricity sector and meeting its commitment to decarbonizing the country’s electricity systems. 

Related Information 

YMCA of Greater TorontoSmart Renewables and Electrification Pathways ProgramPowering Canada Forward: Building a Clean, Affordable, and Reliable Electricity System for Every Region in Canada2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

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KuCoin Marks Ninth Anniversary at Tomorrowland Belgium, Honoring Nine Years of Industry Progress Beyond the Signal

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PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands, July 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On the day of its ninth anniversary, KuCoin welcomed global partners, institutional clients, ecosystem builders and media representatives to the “On Cloud 9 Skybox Experience,” an exclusive celebration at the Tomorrowland Belgium Skybox. Overlooking Tomorrowland’s iconic Mainstage, guests gathered throughout an unforgettable evening as world-renowned artists including Nicky Romero, Alok, Steve Angello and Hardwell delivered performances that brought together people from around the world. Against this backdrop of music, culture and global connection, KuCoin celebrated not only its own nine-year journey, but also the remarkable progress the digital asset industry has achieved together.

The experience formed part of KuCoin’s broader ninth-anniversary campaign, “Beyond the Signal,” reflecting the company’s belief that the industry’s future will be shaped not by short-term market movements alone, but by the trust, innovation and infrastructure that enable lasting progress. Bringing this vision to life in an elevated festival setting, the evening offered guests an opportunity to reflect on nine years of shared growth, collaboration and resilience, while looking ahead together to the next chapter of digital assets.

Against the backdrop of Tomorrowland’s iconic Mainstage, the exclusive Skybox experience with signature champagne rituals brought KuCoin and its guests together to reflect on and celebrate the milestones that have shaped its nine-year journey. From expanding access to digital assets and navigating multiple market cycles to strengthening security and compliance, supporting institutional participation, and advancing innovation across payments, AI and Web3, these milestones also reflected the broader evolution of the digital asset industry toward greater maturity.

The moment celebrated not only how far KuCoin has come, but also the progress the industry has made together. Over the past nine years, markets have risen and fallen, and technologies have continued to evolve. Yet lasting progress has always been driven by the builders, developers, partners and communities working together to create enduring value. That is the idea behind Beyond the Signal.

“Ninth anniversaries are often measured in years. We prefer to measure ours in trust,” said BC Wong, CEO of KuCoin. “The greatest achievement of the past nine years has not been our growth alone, but the confidence our users, partners and community have continued to place in us. Trust is the infrastructure that enables innovation, adoption and long-term progress. As we enter our next decade, we remain committed to building secure, compliant and trusted digital asset infrastructure together with our partners worldwide.”

The celebration also highlighted KuCoin’s expanding partnership with Tomorrowland as the festival’s Exclusive Crypto Exchange and Payments Partner for Tomorrowland Winter and Tomorrowland Belgium 2026–2028. Bringing together one of the world’s most influential cultural events with trusted digital infrastructure, the partnership reflects a shared vision of connecting people across borders and creating meaningful real-world experiences through technology, payments and community. For KuCoin, Tomorrowland is more than a global music festival—it represents the openness, diversity and global community that have always been at the heart of crypto.

Nine years ago, KuCoin set out to make digital assets accessible to more people around the world. Today, its mission has evolved beyond access to helping build the trusted infrastructure that will support the future of digital finance. Beyond music, beyond the celebration and beyond the signal, KuCoin’s ninth anniversary was not only a milestone for the company, but a celebration of how far the industry has come together—and a commitment to building what comes next.

About KuCoin

Founded in 2017, KuCoin is a leading global crypto platform built on trust and security, serving over 45 million users across 200+ countries and regions. Known for its reliability and user-first approach, the platform combines advanced technology, deep liquidity, and strong security safeguards to deliver a seamless trading experience. KuCoin provides access to 1,500+ digital assets through a broad product suite and remains committed to building transparent, compliant, and user-centric digital asset infrastructure for the future of finance, backed by SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, and ISO/IEC 27701:2019 Certifications. In recent years, we have built a strong global compliance foundation, marked by key milestones including AUSTRAC registration in Australia, a MiCA license in Europe, and regulatory progress in other markets.

Learn more at www.kucoin.com.

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SOURCE KuCoin

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2026 World Internet Conference Digital Silk Road Development Forum Opens in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province

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XI’AN, China, July 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from CRI Online:

On July 22, the 2026 World Internet Conference (WIC) Digital Silk Road Development Forum officially opened in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province. Hosted by the WIC and organized by the Shaanxi Provincial Government, the forum was held under the theme “Pooling Intelligence on the Silk Road, Embarking on a Digital Future — Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace”. Approximately 800 participants from more than 50 countries and regions, as well as seven international organizations, attended the event.

Mayra Arevich Marín, Minister of Communications of Cuba; Faqir Mahbub Anam, Minister of Posts, Telecommunication & Information Technology and Minister of Science and Technology of Bangladesh; Samba Diouf, Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Affairs of Senegal; Wang Binying, Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); John Higgins, President of the International AI Governance Association (IAGA); and Wang Xingxing, Founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.

Following the opening ceremony, a ministerial meeting was held. Thematic forums were convened focusing on Silk Road e-commerce cooperation and development, collaborative innovation and development of AI agents, digital and intelligent health, and the preservation and transmission of cultural heritage in the digital intelligence era. These discussions aimed to help Belt and Road partner countries strengthen consensus, deepen cooperation, and seize new opportunities brought by digital and intelligent development. During the forum, the World Internet Conference Cultural Heritage Digitalization Case Collection (2026) was released. A series of capacity-building activities under the WIC Digital & AI Academy were also held, including a capacity building program on AI-driven digital trade, a salon on “Copyright Empowerment in Cultural Heritage Digitalization”, and a field study at a digital port.

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SOURCE CRI Online

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Tesla Owns Nearly 1 in 5 AI Answers About EVs. New 5W Index Ranks the Top 25 EV Brands by AI Citation Share.

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EV charging networks — Electrify America, EVgo, ChargePoint — are nearly invisible inside AI answers despite operating the infrastructure the entire category depends on.

MIAMI, July 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — 5W AI Communications, the AI Communications Firm, today released the 5W AI Visibility Index — EV, ranking the top 25 EV brands by modeled AI citation share across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. Tesla anchors the category at 18.4% — more than the next three brands combined. Rivian is second at 8.2%. Ford is third at 6.4%.

The Index is Volume 07 in 5W’s 2026 Consumer AI Visibility Index series. The full report is available at https://www.5wpr.com/research/ev-ai-visibility-index/.

More than a third of U.S. consumers now begin product research with an AI engine — not Google. For the EV category — where purchase consideration windows stretch six to twelve months and buyers cross-reference range, charging, ownership cost, and long-term reliability across dozens of sources — the answers the engines return are shaping the shortlist before a buyer walks into a dealership.

The Findings

Tesla dominates at 18.4% citation share — cited on virtually every consumer EV query across all five engines. Brand, product, and CEO overlap produce a citation profile no peer can match.Rivian (8.2%) is the dominant adventure-EV authority. The R1T and R1S anchor truck and SUV electric citation.Ford (6.4%) leads legacy automakers. The F-150 Lightning owns EV-truck queries; the Mach-E anchors EV-SUV comparisons.Lucid (4.8%) and Hyundai Ioniq (4.4%) complete the Tier 1 leaders. The Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 over-index against U.S. brand recognition.GM sits at #6 with 3.8% — despite scale — because Bolt, Lyriq, and Hummer EV are cited separately rather than as one GM-EV narrative. Ford consolidated its story. GM did not.Toyota (#17) and Honda (#18) are the two largest legacy automakers furthest behind in EV citation. The bZ4X, Solterra, and Prologue cite at rates far below what brand recognition would predict.EV charging networks are absent from the top 25. Electrify America, EVgo, and ChargePoint operate the infrastructure the entire category depends on — and have not built consumer-facing brand citation to match. The category is open.

“Every EV buyer starts inside a chatbox now. Tesla owns nearly one in five answers. The next three brands combined don’t match it. That’s a citation moat measured in AI — not TV budgets, not showroom count,” said Ronn Torossian, Founder and Chairman, 5W AI Communications. “GM is bigger than Rivian by every commercial metric and half its size in the answer. That gap costs sales. The charging networks are the biggest miss in the category — whoever builds the dominant ‘where should I charge’ answer anchors a multi-decade growth curve. Right now, none of them own it.”

The Five Engines Do Not Return Identical Answers

ChatGPT: Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, Ford, Hyundai dominate. Conservative and brand-anchored.Claude: Recurrent and CleanTechnica over-index. Data-source preference. Lighter on enthusiast brands.Perplexity: Reddit EV subreddits dominant. Out of Spec YouTube data heavily cited. Freshness-favored.Google AI Overviews: Tesla, InsideEVs, Edmunds, Kelley Blue Book dominate. Closest to a SERP-mirror.Gemini: YouTube EV creators dominate — Out of Spec, Munro Live, MKBHD at the highest rates.

Engine-aware strategy matters. A brand absent from one engine but present in another needs a different program than a brand absent across the board.

Methodology
Modeled directional estimates derived from publicly available data, observed retrieval patterns, structural signals, and the corresponding Everything-PR Citation Share Study — EV (Issue No. 07). Twenty-five brands, five engines, sixty-plus consumer-prompt query patterns. Not the output of logged query runs across millions of prompts. Intended as a strategic framework — not a definitive search-engine measurement.

The dominant outlets shaping EV citation are InsideEVs, Electrek, Recurrent, Edmunds EV, Car and Driver EV, CleanTechnica, and the Reddit-and-YouTube creator layer. Brand citation share is built primarily through presence inside that specific outlet set — and through Recurrent battery-data partnership for used-EV citation.

About 5W AI Communications
5W is the AI Communications Firm, building brand authority across the platforms where decisions now happen — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews — alongside earned media, digital, and influencer channels. 5W combines public relations, digital marketing, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and proprietary AI visibility research to help clients measure and grow their presence in AI-driven buyer research. Founded in 2003, 5W is recognized as a Top U.S. PR Agency by O’Dwyer’s, named Agency of the Year in the American Business Awards®, honored as a 2026 Top Place to Work in Communications by Ragan, and named to Digiday’s WorkLife Employer of the Year list. 5W serves clients across B2C sectors — Beauty & Fashion, Consumer Brands, Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness, Travel & Hospitality, Technology, and Nonprofit — and B2B specialties including Corporate Communications, Reputation Management, Public Affairs, Crisis Communications, and Digital Marketing across Social, Influencer, Paid Media, GEO, and SEO. Learn more at 5wpr.com.

Media Contact
press@5wpr.com

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SOURCE 5W Public Relations

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