Clean technology revolution: the next Big Bang?
June 30, 2009
45 years (give or take a few). That’s about how long we have before the world will run out of oil according to peak oil theorists. And 30 years after that, all the gas will be gone too.
So what’s the solution? How about a Revolution?
Picture a world where energy is decentralized, cars are plugged in every night, and solar panels crest every home. Imagine a system where waste heat is captured and re-used and clusters of small on-site generators called microgrids are the preferred source of energy for heating homes and offices.
Visualize a day when energy is abundant instead of scarce and consumers can run their dishwashers without fear of rolling black- or brown-outs.
Sound like Captain Kirk and the Enterprise should be fixing up a star-date for this future? Think again. The Clean Tech Revolution will be here faster than you can say ‘Beam Me Up, Scotty.’
Merrill Lynch experts say that we experience revolutions every 50 years or so. With oil and gas shortages predicted and legitimate concerns surrounding climate change, the Clean Technology Revolution is about due and will be as important as the Industrial Revolution was during the 18th Century.
Leading the revolution? Experts say solar energy. Stay tuned as the story continues to unfold.
What is all this wind about wind?
June 29, 2009
Pick up any newspaper or tune into any newscast, and you no doubt will have witnessed the groundswell of support, both public and official, for “green” energy. In practice, “green” means clean, renewable, and above-all, low-or-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
In Canada, one energy industry in particular has emerged as the star: wind energy.
Why wind power?
Well, for starters, Canada is windy. That sounds trite, but consider a province like Alberta. Hydroelectric power simply isn’t a possibility, even on a medium scale. Tidal power? Are you kidding? The province is blessed with an abundance of wind. It’s no coincidence that Alberta is Canada’s per-capita leader in wind power generation, and third overall behind Ontario and Quebec.
That’s not to say Alberta is particularly “windier” than any other province. Overall, the quality of Canada’s wind resource is as good as or better than any in the world. With a huge landmass and lengthy coastlines, the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) says the country has more top-quality wind power sites than it could ever use.
So what is all this wind about wind?
In short, its advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Besides an abundance of suitable sites for wind farms, wind is non-polluting, requires no water for cooling or cleansing, has been proven around the world, produces reasonably-priced electricity, and the initial construction costs are low enough for medium-sized municipalities to bear.
There are, as with any technology, disadvantages. The most common complaint is about the noise from spinning turbines, or otherwise-natural vistas being “ruined” by the tall towers. Also, reliability: when the wind isn’t blowing, no power is being generated. This means either (a) enough power must be generated while the wind is blowing to save for down-time, or (b) keeping traditional power around, at least as a backup. In the Centre for Energy’s most recent edition of Energy in Canada, this argument is addressed, saying, “While no form of energy can be relied upon 100 per cent of the time, variations in the output of wind energy are minimal over and above the normal fluctuation in electricity supply and demand. Therefore, at penetrations of up to 10 per cent in the electricity grid, wind energy requires very little additional back-up resources beyond those already in place within the electricity system.”
As well, the same article addresses the challenge of wind’s reliability, mentioning that although wind doesn’t blow all the time, it is important to remember that the wind doesn’t stop blowing everywhere at the same time – that large numbers of wind turbines spread over a wide geographic area do, in fact, produce a consistent amount of power. Some food for thought.
Building a Green Energy Economy
The Canadian federal government is certainly convinced. Ottawa has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020, setting aside $702-million aside for development of a more sustainable environment through 2011, including $400-million to transform to a “Green Energy Economy.”
Wind energy is a lynchpin of this plan. CanWEA believes wind energy can satisfy 20 per cent of the nation’s electricity demand by 2025 – a mere 16 years away. Among other economic and ancillary benefits, it’s estimated this would reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by 17 megatonnes.
To achieve this plan, three things need to happen. First, Canada and its regions need smart investment and to play to their natural strengths and advantages. Second, the wind industry needs to continue working on mitigating wind energy’s weaknesses. Third – and let’s not mince words here – a massive commitment and capital investment is required.
Smart Investment
First, smart investment. Think of it as “chipping away.” For example, way back in 2001, Calgary Transit formed a partnership with Vision Quest Wind Electric – “Ride the Wind”. From that point forward, the city’s growing Light Rail Transit (LRT, or “C-Train”) system would be run entirely on wind power.
Previously, the electricity used for C-Train traction power came from coal or natural gas facilities. At last estimate, wind power reduced Calgary Transit’s annual carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 46,000 tonnes – and as the city’s LRT system grows, so will the savings.
What’s the significance? That transforming to clean energy doesn’t have to come in one painful, chaotic spasm of upheaval, but through careful, strategic investment by interested companies and governments. Indeed, there are dozens of wind projects from coast to coast to coast, from small to large.
Smart investment can also be driven by individuals, not just Microsoft-sized corporations and national governments. Consumers in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia can choose “100 per cent green electricity” by choosing Bullfrog Power as their provider.
Bullfrog works something like an independent phone company. Bullfrog uses the same grid, but injects as much electricity into grid as its customers use. This is done via Bullfrog’s wind and hydro facilities, all certified by Environment Canada as low-impact. What difference does that make? Bullfrog’s growth has necessitated the construction of five new wind farms – four in Ontario, one in Alberta – to meet rising demand.
Address the challenges
Secondly, the wind industry needs to mitigate its inherent drawbacks. One encouraging development is “urban turbines” for use in small settings – even backyards. Based on ancient Egyptian windmills, the turbines don’t look like massive propellers, but hand-powered lawn mowers placed vertically.
With more surface area devoted to harnessing the wind, they spin much more slowly (up to twice the speed of the wind), making the blades visible to bats and birds, and thus much safer. The urban turbines are also quieter, and relatively cheap – a small model can supply around two-thirds of a typical household’s energy needs; a medium-sized version can power an entire house.
Capital investment on wind infrastructure
The third thing is simultaneously the most challenging and most encouraging: a massive capital investment. There are wind power projects literally across the country. In Quebec, there are 23 separate wind power projects either under construction or planned for the very near future. There are even two turbines just outside Whitehorse, in the frigid Yukon Territory, where it was said the cold would make wind power impractical.
In Ontario, Canada’s largest province, wind power is an integral part of the grid, the economy, and plans for the future. There are 24 wind farms operating, with eight projects planned or under construction. The combined total capacities of the existing and under construction wind farms in Ontario is 1436.9 MW, which will increase; the Ontario Power Authority’s Integrated Power System Plan calls for 4,600 megawatts of wind energy by 2020.
Canada’s smallest province is on board as well. PEI has seven wind farms, with a total capacity of 75.36 MW. Construction is underway on a second phase of the West Cape Wind Farm, which will more than double the province’s wind power capacity.
Achieving CanWEA’s WindVision 2025 (1MB PDF) will have other benefits, too. All that infrastructure doesn’t just appear and disappear. CanWEA says it will create at least 52,000 high-quality, full-time jobs in Canada, including and particularly in rural communities. It will also produce $165 million in new annual revenues for municipalities.
Wind power isn’t just Canada’s future in the far-off, Buck Rogers sense. It’s very much part of the present and immediate prospects for the economy, and in reducing the entire country’s ecological impact.
Time for drugs to get back to earth
June 29, 2009
When it comes to drugs, consider the green kind… not that kind of green, silly. Think health and environment!
Green technology gains momentum in Windsor
June 29, 2009
University of Windsor has received a $1.4 million grant to help fund a new clean diesel research project
Eco-friendly cigarettes?
June 29, 2009
If tobacco companies go green, does that constitute greenwashing? Gideon Forman of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment thinks so
Full Story [Red Green and Blue]
Gaggle of gadgets grounds for global gasp
June 29, 2009
Home electronics jacking up power consumption
Today, more than one billion people are using personal computers worldwide; two billion have television sets and more than three billion are gabbing on their mobile phones. And the number of chargers for all those cell phones? Around 6 billion. That’s almost the entire global population.
Currently, 15% of household electricity consumption is used to keep those cell phones charged and those TVs and computers running. With these devices becoming an ever-increasing part of our world and that technology improving rapidly, this gadget gaggle is expected to triple the energy consumption rate over the next 20 years.
The International Energy Agency is calling on governments to legislate more energy-efficient gadgets. It predicts that 1,700 terawatt hours will be consumed by 2030, if current consumption is not curbed. Not only would that cost an estimated $200 billion in electricity bills, it is equivalent to the current combined total residential electricity consumption of the United States and Japan.
But what about all our technology improvements? Any efficiency progress that has been made over the last few years has mostly been cancelled out by the high demand for advanced devices that suck more power.
Canada is already leading the charge with some impressive appliance and electronic standards. The EnerGuide and Energy Star programs publish the names of the most energy-efficient brands and force appliance manufacturers to post their power-use ratings.
Simply using the best available technology would slow growth in consumption to less than 1 per cent a year through 2030.
Now that’s worth phoning home about.
A look inside a hyper-energy-efficient home
June 26, 2009
This Edmontonian wants to know that beauty runs more than skin deep when it comes to building a home. The result? A hyper-energy efficient abode
Friday Facts
June 26, 2009
Canada is the third largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world. In 2007, Canada generated 365.3 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectricity. China, with 429.98 billion kilowatt-hours, is the largest producer of hydroelectricity, followed by Brazil at 370.63 billion kilowatt-hours.
Source: Energy Information Administration
Toughing out climate change commitments in tough times
June 26, 2009
Have you heard? The economy is bad. So it’s time to tighten the belt, cinch the purse strings, stretch our dollars. Except wait—what about climate change? Sure it sounds good when we’re fat and happy, but what happens once the economy turns sour? Many countries are choosing to commit to the environment despite tough economic times.
Australia has the highest per capita levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has set some lofty targets, planning to cut emissions by between 5% and 15% by 2020. He is also requiring industrial polluters to bid for government licences to emit carbon, which would cover 75% of Australia’s emissions.
27 countries of the European Union recently committed to reducing carbon emissions by 20% by 2020, compared to 1990 levels.
China has set targets to improve its energy efficiency, Brazil is tackling deforestation and Mexico has set new emissions goals.
Scotland recently raised a pint to Mother Nature by proposing an 80% reduction in the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and addressing burgeoning shipping and aviation emissions.
In the US, emissions have actually increased by 17% since 1990. President Obama has committed to reducing them to 1990 levels by the year 2020.
Developing countries such as Nigeria and South Africa are also making efforts to cut their countries’ emissions by 20-30% over the next 10 years.
If leadership is about having vision and prospering in times of adversity, there are many countries which are blazing a new emissions reduction trail.
Let’s not crowd out the car
June 25, 2009
What does reducing GHGs mean for car owners? Says this article: “If car owners haven’t got it, they will soon: the world is no longer their oyster. In fact, increasingly planners are planning around them rather than for them.”