By David Dodge and Scott Rollans
Peter Koning has been an oil and gas industry insider for decades. Lately, though, he has developed a growing passion for alternative energy. Each week, Peter scans the web for news stories about green energy and then shares highlights in a newsletter called Energy Shift
Peter Koning, Energy Shift
“It’s just a way for me to learn about these areas—wind, solar energy storage, distributed generation—all those kinds of things,” Koning explains.
Koning designed Energy Shift as a wake-up call to colleagues in the field of conventional energy. “Part of my motivation was really to create a bit of unease in our own sector,” he says. “It’s about, hey, are you really paying attention to what’s going on here in this space?”
Climate change our number one challenge
Peter sees climate change as humanity’s number one challenge. In order to face it at a corporate, national, or global level, he believes we must first confront our individual stake in climate change.
“We know that the balance of evidence is pointing to anthropogenic global climate change,” Koning points out. “And so, let’s acknowledge that. Governments are getting on board with it. Companies are getting on board with it. The challenge I think now is often at the personal level. Are we really acknowledging it?”
The city of Shenzen China has replaced 16,359 of its buses with electric buses. Photo by SolarPVTV (YouTube)
Through his online research, Koning is often electrified (pardon the pun) by the rapid progress being achieved elsewhere in the world. The pace of change can be daunting, particularly when we cast our eyes on Asia.
“Boy that’s the thing to watch,” Koning declares. “China and India—but China especially, because of the way they approach things. They can just make stuff happen—the build-out of wind power, the build-out of their electrification of transport with 17,000 electric buses in one city alone.”
CDR Systems solar powered Calgary manufacturing plant. Photo CDR Systems
Why not here?
Koning is particularly excited by the idea of distributed generation—businesses and households installing small-scale wind and solar and feeding their excess energy into the grid. It’s the wave of the future, but Koning worries we’ll be left behind. “I see in Canada far less use of those kinds of tools by utilities than in other parts of the world. And my question remains why? What is it that’s stopping us?”
Lately, Koning has been following the potential of blockchain-powered networks—the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies. Alternative energy experts see blockchain as a way of tracking massive networks of small-scale generators (say, an array of solar panels on your garage), connecting them to energy consumers, and then handling the almost infinite number of financial transactions. “Look at it is as a distributed ledger, a secure way of managing smart contracts,” Koning says.
Bull Creek Wind Farm powers 500 schools in rural Alberta. It coexists with oil and gas near Provost, Alberta. Photo David Dodge, GreenEnergyFutures.ca
Energy evolution, not revolution
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Koning calls his newsletter Energy Shift because he sees green energy as an evolution, not a revolution. Our province will continue to supply conventional energy for decades to come, he believes. “In Alberta’s case, a 100 megaton limit [on carbon emissions] provides some room for us to grow, to innovate, to bend the curve on emissions—and still be able to go about our work of providing affordable energy to the globe. And so, in this case we can look after both the climate and the economy. And that’s why I think you’re seeing companies support it.”
As a career oil and gas man, Koning might seem like an unlikely advocate for alternative energy. But, his reputation in the industry helps him reach those who might otherwise resist the concept of climate action.
“Because it is a more polarized environment, people are increasingly in their own camps” Koning points out. “I think to be seen as an oil and gas guy that’s paying attention to these things has been helped to open up conversations I might not have had otherwise. I’m learning from it. And, I think, vice versa.”
To sign up for your own free subscription to Energy Shift, simply visit stewarding energy dot com.