Energy BOT Squad’s Newest Member
March 28, 2011
This week’s BOT is a blast from energy’s past, one of the oldest fuel sources we have (Canadians have been mining coal since 1685). Yes, CoalBOT has seen it all. But even if he is a fossil fuel, CoalBOT’s no dinosaur — he still provides about 11 per cent of Canada’s total energy consumption.
In Canada, coal is produced primarily in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. And while provinces like Quebec and BC generate most of their electricity using hydro power, Alberta and Saskatchewan are still large users of coal for electricity.
But CoalBOT doesn’t have an easy road ahead of him either. Ontario is aiming to phase out all its coal generation facilities by 2014, leaving just three years for coal in the province. And around the rest of the country, other, inefficient coal facilities will be shut down by 2025.
Even if the times are changing in Canada, though, it looks like CoalBOT’s sticking around for a while yet. Around the world, coal still provides over 40 per cent of the world’s electricity. Looks like you’ve got some energy left in you yet, CoalBOT.
Ford Focus Electric will connect with AT&T
March 25, 2011
Car and wireless provider hook up.
Panasonic Sends Solar LED Lanterns to Victims of Japan’s Earthquake
March 25, 2011
For lighting and recharging cell phone batteries.
Canadian Hydro
March 25, 2011
Because hydropower supplies more than 63 per cent of our electricity, Canada is one of the greenest electricity producers in the world.
In terms of total generation: hydro, nuclear, coal, natural gas, wind, et al., Canada ranks fifth overall, but only produces about 15 per cent of the electricity produced by the front runner.
Until recently, Canada and Brazil vied for first overall, but the recently completed Three Gorges Dam project in China has put that country in first place.
Three Gorges Dam has 26 generators with a total installed capacity of 18,200 megawatts. Six more generators to be installed by 2015 will raise that to 22,400. In addition, there are two 50-megawatt generators that provide power only for the dam’s operations.
Brazil’s Tucurui generating station, with an installed capacity of 8,370 megawatts is the fourth largest in the world. Brazil shares the 14,000-megawatt Itaipa generating station with Paraguay. It is the second largest in the world.
Canada’s Robert Bourassa generating station in Quebec ranks eighth in the world with 5,616 megawatts installed capacity and Newfoundland’s Churchill Falls generating station is ninth largest in the world with 5,429 megawatts capacity.
On World Water Day, a Look at Water-energy Tech
March 25, 2011
Three winners of the Water-Energy Nexus Prize announced.
ShelterBox Kits Bound for Japan
March 24, 2011
Packing for an emergency.
Utility CEO: Costs, Not Safety, Block New Nukes
March 24, 2011
The issue is really the cost of building new plants compared to other sources of energy. Maybe.
More to Hydro Than Big Dams
March 24, 2011
When we think of hydropower, we think of big dams and lots of water, like the W.A.C. Bennett Dam in northeast British Columbia. Stretching two kilometres across the Peace River and rising 186 metres, the dam forms the Williston Reservoir, which has a surface area of 1,773 square kilometres and a volume of 70 cubic kilometres. The G. M. Shrum generating station within the Bennett Dam has an installed capacity of 2,730 megawatts, and supplies about 29 per cent of BC’s hydroelectricity.
Photo: BC Hydro WAC Bennett Dam and Williston Reservoir
Quebec is the largest producer of hydroelectricity in Canada, with an installed capacity of 34,496 megawatts. About 38 per cent of that comes from run-of-river hydroelectricity, a form of generation that does not use dams or reservoirs. As the name suggests, the natural run of the river passing through the turbines provides enough power to generate electricity. In some cases, part of the flow is diverted either by canals or tunnels; in others, like the Beauharnois generating station, the structure stretches across the river. Quebec has a total of 60 hydroelectricity generating stations, of which 41 are run-of-river. Although the average installed capacity is lower than conventional reservoir generating stations, there are eight in Quebec with installed capacities larger than 500 megawatts.
Photo: Hydro Quebec Beauharnois Generating Station spanning the St. Lawrence River
Another form of hydropower is called pumped storage generation. Typically, water at a lower elevation is pumped into a higher reservoir at times of low demand for use in generation electricity at times of high demand. The Sir Adam Beck Pump Generating Station at Niagara Falls, Ontario uses such a system. The station uses six reversible pump-turbines to fill the reservoir, then to generate the electricity. The change over from turbine to pumping sequence is accomplished in a matter of minutes and occurs several times each day.
A fourth type of hydroelectricity generation is tidal generation. Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Basin is home to one of three tidal generating stations in the world. A dam diverts incoming tides through a turbine or set of turbines that generate electricity. As the tide goes out, the water flows back through the turbines generating more electricity.
Photo left: Ontario Power Generation Sir Adam Beck Generating Station
Photo right: Nova Scotia Power Annapolis Tidal Generating Station
Watch Out Prius: Here Comes the Urbee
March 23, 2011
Being designed in the ‘Peg.
Islay to Get Major Tidal Power Scheme
March 22, 2011
Ten tidal turbines will power 5,000 homes.
