“It’s go time for wind energy, energy storage, and solar energy” in Canada says Vittoria Bellissimo the new President and CEO of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association. “What we need is rapid decarbonization and a great expansion of electricity production to achieve an at zero economy.”
The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation dipped its toes in solar in 2018 when with two other First Nation partners they built a 2.3 megawatt solar project in Fort Chipewyan to offset diesel generation. Now they are launching 68 megawatts of solar in southern Alberta that they have a 50% ownership stake in.
More than 25 per cent of homes in Australia have solar on them, but apartment dwellers – not so much – that is until recently. SolShare is an Australian company out of Melbourne that is bringing solar to multi-family and multi-business facilities thanks to SolShare, new technology that makes it possible to share one solar system among many users.
Indigo Park Canada is adding 500 new EV chargers to its parking facilities in Canada. It’s all part of a transformation of the parking industry. Tomorrow’s parking lots will provide parking, EV charging and even play host to fleets of EVs in the off hours.
One of the coolest things about Edmonton, Alberta is its community leagues. There are 162 volunteer groups representing every neighbourhood in the city doing everything from running sports, cultural and recreational programs, to operating halls, tennis courts and skating rinks AND as it turns out taking action on Climate Change. Interest in solar, energy efficiency, local food and sustainability was so high the Edmonton Federation started the Green Leagues program – this week we find out what’s happening in the ‘hoods.
This week we set out to find out if now is the time to go solar! Unlike 20 years ago when solar was very expensive, solar is now the cheapest way to generate electricity, but how expensive is it to install solar on your home. We found solar is now ten times cheaper than 20 years ago, there are incentives in many jurisdictions and this just might be the best time to go solar ever.
Skyfire’s goal: Zero Emissions Solar. Sure solar produces clean, emissions free electricity, but Alberta-based Skyfire Energy wants to also eliminate all of the embodied carbon emissions from the lifecycle of a solar project.
After successfully designing a very efficient and compact combined furnace-water heater Gradient Thermal is now adapting it to run on 100% hydrogen.
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.
Social scientist Mike Fell from the UK thinks people would adopt climate solutions such as heat pumps faster if they thought the solutions were sexier. So he created pumpchic.com and began comparing heat pumps to prominent actors such as George Clooney.
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.
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.
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.
A river runs through it – Zibi is a carbon-neutral community right on the Ottawa River. It gets electricity from run-of-river, heat from district energy, and represents a new climate-resilient form of urban design.
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.
James Regulinski wanted to accelerate investment in climate solutions so he co-founded Carbon Collective, an investment advisory focused on climate action. They operate a Climate-only Portfolio of stocks based on their 2022 Climate Index.
This Canadian EV calculator takes real-time grid data and lets you compare emissions from EVs vs gas vehicles – spoiler alert – EVs produce a lot fewer emissions even in provinces with dirty grids. The calculator also allows you to compare fuel costs of electric versus gas vehicles and these results may surprise you!
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.
Geoships just might be a creative answer to the climate and housing crises. Made out of ceramic, infused with locally available materials (such as hemp) the affordable designs are modular, resilient to climate disasters, and affordable. We talk to Jean-Marc La Flamme from Geoship about this rethinking of the fabled geodesic dome.
Most of the Canadian town of Lytton, B.C. burned down in June 2021 just as they set a new national record temperature of 49.6C for Canada. Then came the floods, the snow, and bitter winter temperatures. The Kanaka Bar Indian Band is determined to build back better – but what does that look like?
