Buildings are responsible for 30-40% of greenhouse gas emissions. Edmonton builder Peter Amerongen is tackling this head-on by piloting the Dutch idea called EnergieSprong. New walls and roofs are built in a factory and craned onto old energy-inefficient homes transforming them all the way to net-zero. It’s the largest project of its kind in North America as 59 homes are being transformed to net-zero energy.
Let’s face it an electric vehicle charger on the wall of a store just doesn’t cut it. That’s why Electric Autonomy Canada set out to create the ultimate Electric Fuelling Station of the Future in an international design competition. The winning designs will knock your socks off.
What are the most important barriers to electric vehicle adoption? What do EV drivers really need at an EV charging station? In search of the ultimate EV charging station, Electric Autonomy Canada surveyed EV drivers – We talk to Ilana Weitzman this week on Green Energy Futures.
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.
2021 was the year of net-zero. Nations, cities, companies, and even home builders are involved in making pledges. We look at net-zero the goal and three innovations from the journey to net-zero including an inspiring net-zero passive house, the world’s most efficient windows, and an innovative smart home energy system.
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.
Like many young Albertans, Jason Beacock went straight out of school to work on the rigs in the oil and gas industry, drawn by the allure of big salaries. But Jason always had a passion for renewable energy. The company he worked for at the time also saw economic opportunity in the energy transition. They partnered with a battery company and just a few years later business is booming and they are installing battery energy storage systems all over North America.
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.
In the early days, the economics of solar was “horrible.” But solar pioneer David Kelly always believed in the potential so solar so 20 years ago he started SkyFire Energy in Alberta. Since then has pioneered a slew of solar firsts in Western Canada that foreshadowed the major solar boom his company is now part of in Alberta.
We take a peek behind the scenes at COP26 at the battle over eliminating fossil fuel subsidies with Eddy Peréz of the Climate Action Network from Canada. He’s following the COP26 machinations closely and he says 1.5 degrees is only possible with the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies. Mitchell Beer of The Energy Mix talks to Eddy Peréz from COP26.
The federal government has big climate plans and cities and municipalities are where the climate action is – you’d think they would work pretty closely together. But “It’s fairly limited,” Allison Ashcroft says. “Procedurally, there’s little to no direct engagement between ministers and elected officials,” nor between policy staff at key federal governments and practitioners in local government.
#COP26TinyExplainer – Faith groups want accelerated action on climate change, but they also want a just transition. Mitchell Beer talks to Karri Munn-Venn of Citizens for Public Justice from Canada at COP26. They discuss the gap between ambition and action and social justice and the role of faith groups in fighting for climate action at COP26.
#COP26TinyExplainers – Sophia Mathur is one of the millions of youth around the world who have been inspired to fight for climate action by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. We talk to Sophia Mathur of Sudbury, Ontario from COP26 in Glasgow. She was the first Canadian youth to participate in a climate strike, was a winner of the Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award in 2019 along with Greta Thunberg and she’s at COP26 pushing for action.
#COP26TinyExplainer – Coal is the number one source of greenhouse gas emissions. Binnu Jeyakamur says Canada is leading in the phase-out of coal but the question that remains is will it be replaced with clean energy? Mitchell Beer talks to Jeyakumar of the Pembina Institute about coal phase-out, replacing it with clean energy, Canada’s actions on coal and COP26.
#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.
#COP26TinyExplainer – Climate Finance and the $100 Billion Question. We talk to Anya Knechtel of Oxfam Canada about the $100 billion pledged to nations of the global south to combat climate change. What’s the money for? Nations of the south face daunting challenges from COVID-19, and economic, environmental, and social chaos caused by climate change. Anya helps us understand the $100 billion question hanging over COP26. This #COP26TinyExplainers series is a co-production of The Energy Mix and Green Energy Futures.
Net-Zero and passive houses may have 16-inch thick walls and R50 insulation, but what to do about the windows? After years of development, Greg Clarahan says he has the answer – super windows with unheard-of R22 insulation values. This could be a game-changer for green homes.
What happens to all of that farmland beneath those giant solar farms? We hear it all the time at Green Energy Futures. So we headed off to the 136-megawatt Claresholm Solar Project on the Canadian Prairies to find out.
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
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.
