The future is not solar, batteries, electric vehicles, or hydrogen – it’s all of the above and more. And this is why the University of British Columbia is building a Renewable Energy Hub, a city-block-sized living lab that seeks to optimize the use of renewable technologies to get to a zero-emissions future.
With COVID shutdowns David Betke created GreenShows a carbon-neutral online event hosting service that radically reduces travel, increases participation, and plants trees instead of handing out swag.
Business is booming for off-grid RV solar systems as snowbirds and campers take to the roads in droves. We meet with Remi Watts of CBI solar at a pop-up workshop at West Edmonton Mall to get the lowdown on some pretty cool RV solar systems.
On the same day, Edmonton’s Mayor Don Iveson was awarded a national Clean 50 Award and city council passed its landmark 1.5-degree Energy Transition Plan which seeks to take Edmonton to net-zero by 2050.
Renewable energy co-operatives have led the renewable revolution around the world. We look at the roots of co-operatives in Europe and SolShare and other renewable energy co-operatives in Canada.
By using 3,500 kilowatt hours of excess solar electricity from his home solar system Ron Kube is able to power his electric car for 22,000 km and save $2,500/year and reduce the payback on his solar system to just five years.
Emissions on the farm grew 23% between 1990 and 2018 in Canada. The National Farmers Union has a vision for near-zero emissions farming in and it involves fewer fertilizers, less fuel and better quality local foods. This week on Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio podcast we talk to Darrin Qualman author of a new report on near-net-zero farming.
A new report “Canada’s Net-Zero Future” evaluated 60 scenarios for Canada to get to net-zero emissions by 2050. The good news is it’s possible, but it’s going to be a long hard road to get there.
Which can fuel your vehicle to go further? An oil well pump-jack extracting oil or a 750-kilowatt solar farm covering the same footprint? We do the math.
Here’s a big idea! RenuWell wants to breathe new life into thousands of Alberta’s abandoned oil wells by reusing well pads and roads and building 750-kilowatt solar farms. It’s a win-win for landowners, municipalities and energy transition.
The media loves a good headline – The Energy vs Climate expert panel tackles energy and climate change in the media with Laura Lynch of the CBC’s What on Earth show.
Canada just updated its climate plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 and get Canada to “net-zero emissions” by 2050. Is the plan going to work? Green Energy Futures checks in with the Energy vs Climate panel of experts to find out.
Li-Cycle is a Canadian company from Ontario that is taking the mounting heap of battery waste and turning 95 per cent of it into gold – battery-grade raw materials for new batteries. This is the very definition of a circular economy and a secure supply of batteries for electric vehicles.
In spite of COVID-19 and economic chaos in the world there is a solar boom going on in Alberta, Canada’s oil-rich province. This is big news you probably haven’t heard about. The biggest solar project in Canadian history is just about finished, a project four times larger starts construction this year and there are 77 other projects in the development queue in the province.
Is nuclear power the only way we can reach net-zero emissions or is it a threat to civilization and a distraction from the development of other low carbon sources of energy such as solar and wind? We discuss this with energy experts Ed Whittingham, Dr. David Keith, Dr. Sara Hastings-Simon and former Canadian Green Party leader and current MP Elizabeth May.
$300 billion in investment, 700 new EV models and numerous stunning trends mark 2020 as the tipping point for the EV Revolution. The only question is how fast the revolution will take hold and transform the transportation industry around the world. We look back on 2020 with Norman Crowley of the Cool Planet Group, Eddie Robar, transit boss in Edmonton, and Leon Milner e-bike enthusiast.
PODCAST – As 2020 winds down we look back at the year when the renewable energy revolution past the tipping point. Renewable energy is now the cheapest energy money can buy and is attracting trillions in investment. In Canada the largest solar project in Canadian history was built unsubsidized in Claresholm Alberta. Before it was complete another solar project was announced four times larger for 2021, also in Alberta. Renewable energy is becoming a story of opportunity, investment, jobs and economic diversification.
Batteries Included – In part II of our series on Edmonton’s e-bus revolution, we visit the Kathleen Andrews Transit Garage for eletric buses which boasts a dramatic art installation on the roof of this stainless steel expanse of post-industrial design.
Edmonton has quietly become a national leader in electric buses and is counting on these zero-emissions vehicles to reduce operating costs.
Bryce Bernhard came to Alberta from Texas in 2010 with little more than a half-ton and a bag of tools. Today he is the CEO of Alberta Screw Piles a business booming thanks to a booming solar industry.
