Ryan Jansen of the Saskatchewan Research Council research shows batteries can increase a wind turbine's capacity factor significantly, allowing grid operators to incorporate more wind turbines. Photo David Dodge, Green Energy Futures

95. Cowessess First Nation has the biggest battery in Saskatchewan

David DodgeEnergy Storage, First Nations, Wind 2 Comments

By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney A California-based utility recently put a 100-megawatt peaker plant …

94. Energiewende: Addressing the myths of Germany’s energy transition

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By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney Energiewende – pronounced phonetically as “en-er-gee-ven-da,” is the German …

Alberta Pacific Forest Industries uses 2.56 million cubic meters of Aspen, poplars and birch to feed their pulp mill and power plants in Boyle, Alberta. Photo David Dodge, Green Energy Futures

93. Big Biomass 101

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By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney The great boreal forest straddles the country and provinces …

Toronto may have one wind turbine in the core of the city but Medicine Hat now has three two-megawatt wind turbines right in the city. In a public-private partnership the city agreed to buy the wind-powered electricity produced by the turbines for 20 years. Photo David Dodge, Green Energy Futures www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/88-welcome-canadas-only...

92. Our favourite Green Energy Futures stories of 2014

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By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney We had another amazing year at Green Energy Futures. …

DIY Solar Hot Water Heater Photo David Dodge, Green Energy Futures

90. DIY Solar air heating

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By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney Solar energy is a popular subject on Green Energy …

Kyle Kasawski of Landmark Solar

89. Wind and solar reduce the price of electricity in Alberta

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By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney Have you heard the one about how renewables are …

This concentrated solar thermal plant will supply superheated fluid to the city’s natural gas fired power plant, enough to generate one megawatt of electricity. Photo David Dodge, Green Energy Futures

88. Canada’s first concentrated solar thermal plant

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By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney More than three years ago Ted Clugston was showing …

Dave Spencer and Debbie Wiltshire in front of their net-zero home. They wanted to develop a green community in Calgary and started the process more than 12 years ago. The concept turns traditional suburban neighbourhoods on its ear. Photo David Dodge, Green Energy Futures

86. Echohaven: An environmentally friendly, energy efficient suburb

David DodgeEnergy Efficiency, Net Zero, Passive Solar, Solar 1 Comment

By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney To borrow a popular internet meme, what if I …

Wilbur McLean, a communications officer with the city of Medicine Hat, stands in front of a wall of smart meters. Medicine Hat has installed 26,000 smart meters.

85. How to make your smart meter even smarter

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By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney Smart meters are unabashedly good. This might seem like …

Himark Biogas has trademarked the process of integrating cattle, biogas and ethanol operations and they have actually licensed it for use by other companies in the US. Photo David Dodge, Green Energy Futures

84. Integrated bio-refinery

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By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney Alberta is known for its beef – or more …

The roof of the Eastgate office building in Edmonton, home to an Environment Canada office, has 640 solar panels.

83. Is Alberta Canada’s next big solar market? We make the case

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By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney On a bright fall day in early October in …

The Kinney family Earthship at dawn. The house is 2,300 square feet in size with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Photo David Dodge, Green Energy Futures

82. How we built our own Earthship, a radically sustainable, off-grid home on the prairie

David DodgeBuildings, Energy Efficiency, Passive House, Passive Solar, Solar 4 Comments

By Duncan Kinney and David Dodge When you tell people you’re building an Earthship there …

Landmark Solar Townhomes

81. Chasing Net Zero: Go big or go home

David DodgeBuildings, Energy Efficiency, Energy Labelling, Net Zero, Renewable Energy, Solar 4 Comments

By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney American poet, philosopher and naturalist Henry David Thoreau once …

Shafraaz and Serena Kaba’s near net-zero home was inspired by the German concept of the Passivhaus, a super energy efficient home that requires very little energy for heating or cooling. The home is air tight, very well insulated and it gets half its heating from passive solar energy streaming through the windows. Photo Darren Greenwood

80: Chasing Net Zero: Net-zero evolution

David DodgeBuildings, Energy Efficiency, Energy Labelling, Net Zero, Passive Solar, Renewable Energy, Solar 8 Comments

By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney It’s a beautiful, livable, functional net-zero experiment – Welcome …

Spo'pi solar house

79. Chasing Net Zero: Net-zero beautiful

David DodgeBuildings, Energy Efficiency, Energy Labelling, Net Zero, Passive Solar, Renewable Energy, Solar 2 Comments

By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney Building a net-zero home is an intricate dance between …

Photo Garth Crump Chasing net-zero Part 1: Net-zero 101

78. Chasing Net Zero: Net-zero 101

David DodgeBuildings, Energy Efficiency, Energy Labelling, Net Zero, Passive Solar, Renewable Energy, Solar 10 Comments

By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney A net-zero home is more than just a place …

77. Classroom energy challenge

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By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney “To the coffee machine” says Luke, a grade 5 …

Angelo Ligori, plant manager of Greenfield Specialty AlcoholsPhoto David Dodge, Green Energy Futures Greenfield Industrial Alcohols - industrial symbiosis

76. An integrated ethanol biorefinery wastes not

David DodgeBiofuels, Energy Efficiency 1 Comment

By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney Kalundborg is a small port city in Denmark with …