Reflecting on 20 years in Canada: Peter Clibbon celebrates people, partnerships and purpose

Peter still remembers RES’ early days in Canada. The year was 2005, and renewable energy felt like a leap of faith.

“Back then, solar panels were mostly on calculators, and turbine technology was pretty basic,” Peter recalls. “Developing wind farms in North America was really quite an amateur and unreliable occupation. But our intentions and passion haven’t changed since then; today we just do things better.”

As RES’ first employee in Canada, Peter saw both challenge and opportunity. The company already had 20 years of experience in Europe and the U.S., but Canada was new ground. Our first project wasn’t about size, it was about proving a point. “It was a demonstration project to show the world that we knew what we were doing,” he explains. “That projects could be accepted, could innovate, and bring the world’s best technology to Canada at the lowest price.”

From cottage industry to mainstream

Over the past two decades, Peter has watched the industry grow from a niche sector to an essential part of the Canadian energy mix.

“We were a cottage industry 20 years ago in every sense of the word,” he says. “Now, we’re welcome and encouraged. Governments that rejected us now want us back in the mix. Communities that used to reject wind farms are now equity owners in them.”

That shift has been remarkable, and Canada has been a global pioneer in community ownership. In Québec, for instance, an alliance of 200 municipalities now collectively owns over 1,700 megawatts of wind projects with a further 6GW proposed. Across Canada, Indigenous Nations are now co-owners in major wind, solar and storage projects, often holding 50% of the equity. For Peter, this represents far more than megawatts. “It broadens our projects’ acceptance, advances reconciliation with our Indigenous peoples, and provides steady revenue for communities,” he says. “That’s an enormous achievement.”

Creativity leads the way

When asked what distinguishes RES in Canada, Peter points towards creativity. “RES often does things first in the industry,” he explains. “The first impact benefit agreements with First Nations, the first corporate PPAs in Alberta, the first industrial or Hydrogen partnerships. Some of those approaches have now become mainstream.”

He also credits RES’ unique balance of scale and culture. “We’re small enough to be attuned to our communities, partners, and clients, but big enough to be taken extremely seriously,” Peter says. “That’s a special place to be. You don’t find many organizations like this.”

A place to build a career

For Peter, the journey has been just as much about people as it is about projects. “Consistency has been key,” he says. “RES’ ownership and management have created a stable and encouraging environment, and a great place to make your career. That’s why so many RES people in Canada have been here 10 or 15 years. It’s rare to find a company where people can commit their life’s project to a vision aligned with their own, and enjoy the company of the people they work with.”

That sense of purpose is deeply personal. “When I entered engineering school, I knew I couldn’t work somewhere that didn’t have a higher purpose,” Peter shares. “Renewable energy gave me that space. It’s been a luxury to spend my career on something meaningful.”

Looking ahead

As RES celebrates its 20th anniversary in Canada, Peter is already focused on the future. “I’d like to see RES sink deeper into the operational side of the business,” he says. “For too long, we’ve developed and built projects, and then moved on. The next chapter is about long-term stewardship, staying with projects for their full operational life.”

Two decades in, Peter still sees the same sense of excitement that drew him to RES in the first place. The industry may have grown up, but the mission remains the same: delivering clean energy, building partnerships and leaving communities stronger than before.

“At the end of the day,” Peter reflects, “it’s about creating something that matters. It’s about people, purpose and connection. That’s what keeps me going.”