322. Cameron Doepker built a better combi-furnace and now he’s adapting it to 100% hydrogen
After successfully designing a very efficient and compact combined furnace-water heater Gradient Thermal is now adapting it to run on 100% hydrogen.
Category: Renewable Energy
321. NAIT Alternative Energy Rocking it at 10 Years
NAIT’s Alternative Energy program may have started when solar and wind power were “Alternative,” but after 10 years its grads are rocking the clean energy sector and clean energy is booming. We chat with the program’s founding chair Dr. Jim Sandercock.
319. Thriving in the Net-Zero Economy
You often hear oil and gas pitted against renewable energy as if they are in an all-out either-or war for supremacy. But Alberta, Canada’s oil province is also blessed with the best renewable and clean energy resources in the country and the energy expertise to build the net-zero economy of the future. We have done so many stories about inspired Albertans building the economy of the future we thought we’d take the conversation live. In this preview, we speak to four Albertans who believe their province has the right stuff to thrive in a net-zero future.
318. $3.7 Billion Investment in Renewables – All in Alberta
The Business Renewables Centre (BRC) says there has been $3.7 billion in investment and 4,500 jobs that have been generated by municipalities and companies alike procuring 100% renewable energy from private developers in Alberta: companies like Amazon, RBC, Telus, Bimbo, and more. We talk to Nagwan Al-Guneid, director of the BRC.
317. Can Smart Homes Help Fight Climate Change? – Survey Says
A recent survey by Schneider Electric Canada says we all care deeply about climate change, but fewer than one in five Canadians are investing in energy efficiency and smart home devices. We talk to David O’Reilly at Schneider Electric Canada about the potential of smart home technologies to save energy, save money, and take a dent out of the 13% of greenhouse gas emissions that come from our homes.
315. SolShare Cooperative – Making Solar Accessible and Affordable in B.C.
SolShare Cooperative partnered with Tantalus Winery in the Okanagan of B.C. to install solar to power the winery operations. Germany’s renewable energy industry was kick-started by cooperatives, but it’s harder in Canada due to the structure of electricity markets. We talk to Rob Baxter of SolShare about their efforts to make solar more accessible.
312. A Clean Electricity Standard is Part of Canada’s New Plan to Reduce Emissions by 40% by 2030
Canada has a new Emissions Reduction Plan to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030. Binnu Jeyakumar of the Pembina Institute says “This is a turning point for climate action in Canada. It’s the first time we have a detailed plan on how we get 40% emissions reductions…by 2030. We zero in on new measures to decarbonize Canada’s electricity grid.
306. Alberta Electricity – King Coal is Gone – Now for the Hard Part, Getting to Net-zero
Alberta’s electricity was 81% coal-fired in 1981. By 2023 it will reach 0%. Now for the hard part – getting to net-zero. Green Energy Futures talks to economist Dr. Blake Shaffer about how to go the distance and reach net-zero emissions.
304. 2021 A Very Big Year for Solar in Alberta
2021 was a big year for solar in Alberta. Just as the largest solar project in Canadian history came online one 3.5 times larger was already under construction. Solar is now the cheapest way to generate electricity and in one of the coolest energy transition projects ever solar is being used to repurpose abandoned oil well sites in Alberta.
302. Net-Zero Power for Canada – Solar, wind and energy storage can do it
Solar, wind, and energy storage are the most economical solutions to use for Canada to decarbonize the grid and help Canada reach its net-zero goals says a new report entitled Powering Canada’s Journey to Net-Zero.
Net-Zero Targets Sorting the Spin from Substance
#COP26TinyExplainer – NetZero targets are all the rage for government and industry these days. Join us as we attempt to sort spin from substance. Mitchell Beer talks to Catherine Abreu of Destination Zero to sort the many zeros of net-zero.
297. Stunning Net-Zero Passive House good to -40 with no furnace
Passive House 101 – This amazing net-zero passive house has no furnace and is designed to withstand the northern Canadian winter where temperatures reach near -40 Celsius. We present the anatomy of a passive home that is 90% more efficient, is super-insulated, has no concrete foundation walls and that uses a 450% efficient heat pump water heater not only to provide hot water but also to provide supplementary heat in the cold depths of winter
296. Transcending Polarization – Ten Peaks helps students navigate energy transition
Dagmar Knutson was growing very tired of the rhetoric and polarization that swirls around climate change and energy transition in oil-rich Alberta. So she formed Ten Peaks Innovation Alliance and has organized a conference to bring teachers and students together to transcend polarization and begin collaborating on building the low carbon energy future we all need.
295. Ring that DCBEL – A revolutionary fast EV charger and solar inverter for the home
The DCBEL R16 is a revolutionary electric vehicle charger that connects your solar system to the grid, and with built-in artificial intelligence learns how to help you save money. Due to its unique DC charging system, it charges EVs at twice the speed of a level two charger and it completely replaces the inverter for your solar system. Oh, and it knows your price of electricity and optimizes vehicle charging, and thanks to bidirectional charging the R16 can use electricity from your car to run your home during a blackout.
294. Solar Recycling 101: The good, the bad & the potential
We look at solar recycling – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Ok, that’s pretty melodramatic because as we learned solar modules contain mostly very benign, and rather plain materials. We tear apart a solar module, find out what toxins are present, and learn how a company in Medford, Oregon is recycling 110,000 solar modules per year.
293. A second life for solar modules
Fabtech not only recycles used solar modules they have refurbished more than 600,000 modules and are selling them into a burgeoning market for use solar modules.
292. ReCognition – What to do after the apocalypse – save the wind guy!
By day Mark Dowson works on solar projects in the United Kingdom, but when the sun goes down he’s the author of a series of post-climate change, dystopian, SciFi thrillers.
291. Renewable energy could provide 95% of electricity in Canada by 2050
A North American Renewable Integration Study found Canada could get up to 95% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2050 in a low-cost, low-carbon future. This would mean a 10-fold increase in wind power and an 18-fold increase in solar power.
290. Schneider Electric – named the most sustainable company in the world
Schneider Electric was named the most sustainable company in the world by Corporate Knights a Canadian sustainability rating firm. The France-based global company already used 80 per cent renewable energy for its operations and wants to be carbon neutral by 2025.
289. 15-Minute Cities – Edmonton’s bold plan for a sustainable net-zero city
Edmonton has a bold plan to live within a 1.5-degree carbon budget, get to zero emissions and build a sustainable 15-minute city of the future.
