It might seem odd to put solar panels on the side of walls in a region with mountains, but that’s exactly what’s happening in Switzerland. One of the cantons in the country is looking to be powered by at least 40% renewables by 2035 (which is quite achievable); with terrain
Continue readingTag: energy
Things Are Good: Let’s Mine Landfills for Profit
Extracting resources from under the ground is an expensive and environmentally harmful thing to do. It’s also political challenging in many places to open (or expand) new mining operations, the recent court ruling in Panama demonstrates this. For decades we’ve been tossing perfectly good metals into landfills, so why not
Continue readingThings Are Good: We Will Triple Renewable Power Global by 2030
With renewables already cheaper than fossil fuels it’s not surprising that uptake in renewable energy is increasing. The benefits of renewable aren’t just a clean source of energy but also a cheap source of energy. Some countries around the world are on track to more than triple their renewable energy
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: If we have the will, energy solutions are within reach
Methods of creating or capturing energy near demand points are gaining prominence and threatening the disruption of today’s giant utilities. A paper from Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology suggests millions of buildings can be energy self-sufficient using solar systems, retrofitting, energy storage systems, and heat pumps. Many single family homes could abandon
Continue readingThings Are Good: Iraq Looking to the Sun to Power its Future
Iraqi oil fields have a lot of fossil fuels ready to be exported, and that’s a problem. The Iraqi population, like many oil states, don’t benefit from the cheap oil that corporations extract and export. As a result Iraqis have now turned to solar power for their local energy needs.
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Super cheap electricity
Seattle based writer David Roberts reports on energy matters. Recently Roberts explored the variability of renewable energy. Opponents of wind and solar power rely on this subject to raise objections. Despite virtually all of the electricity generated by BC Hydro being dispatchable, the public utility has discouraged addition of variable
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Boundless, scalable, clean energy
Decarbonization is a catchword used by the fossil fuel and nuclear power industries. But each of those groups cannot eliminate inherent dangers. Unless we develop safe, carbon-free energy sources, we cannot sustain current standards of living. And, perhaps we cannot sustain human life in the long-term. But, as billions of
Continue readingThings Are Good: In Cold Weather, Heat Pumps Outperform Fossil Fuel Furnaces
If you don’t already have a heat pump then you’re going to want one ASAP. These machines that act as heaters in the winter and air conditioning in the summer are already more efficient than traditional AC units. Now, the current version of heat pumps even outperform fossil fuel furnaces
Continue readingThings Are Good: Climate Solution Simulator
Avoiding a bigger climate catastrophe should be a concern for everyone, but understanding how to do that could be a challenge for some. The EN Roads simulator is a way for people to easily understand how to end our destructive energy practices. It’s an easy to use interface that has
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Aug 3: The day Danielle Smith kneecapped wind and solar energy
The low point of my summer (and there were many with this UCP government) came on Aug 3 when Danielle Smith announced a 7 month moratorium on wind and solar renewable energy projects—a decision that paralyses more than 100 projects valued at $33 billion—ostensibly to address policy concerns that could
Continue reading52 Ideas: Canada’s and Alberta’s Economic Future depends on our transition to Green Energy by 2035
“He also shared a few bold predictions. Investors, he said, would have to spend $400 billion to realize the Liberal plan, but there would be a net benefit to Canadians of $29 billion by 2050. He also put out on social media a claim by the Canadian Climate Institute that
Continue readingThings Are Good: Better Solar Helps Bitter Hops
Agrivoltaic setups aren’t new to regular readers of this site as we’ve seen many times that certain crops benefit from the shade solar panels provide; and, the solar panels benefit the farmers by producing clean energy. Now we know that hops, which flavour beer, thrive under solar panels. A German
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Community-powered energy
Over the years, clean renewable power costs have decreased steadily and efficiencies have improved. The British Columbia government and the main public utility offer few incentives for creation of energy near to points of consumption. Green electricity must displace fossil fuels but the NDP allows BC Hydro to maintain its
Continue reading52 Ideas: Grande Cache and UCP coal extraction policy is going to cause more problems than it will solve
Over the next few decades, as we push towards decarbonizing everything, every new project is going to be asked one question: can this good or service that you are offering be done without fossil fuels? This is a question that has permeated many places, but it has not seemed to
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Carbon-free, non-destructive energy
A pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH) facility moves water into a high-level reservoir during times of low demand, and then generates electricity by releasing water during times of high demand. Most storage occurs at night and most electricity is generated during the day. PSH is a proven method of energy storage with competitive
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: A solar powered future?
Despite false claims by organizations paid to promote false claims, clean renewable energy must replace fossil fuels. The only question is when. The inevitable is assured by crucial environmental, social and economic benefits…
Continue readingThings Are Good: Putting Names on the Climate Crisis
The people who make decisions to continue us on a path of climate catastrophe have names and addresses. We need to shame people who are actively engage in profiteering off of killing every living thing on the planet, and that’s exactly what Environmental Defence has started to do. They have
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Jiggery-pokery in business
On Twitter, Eudaimonia drew attention to a legal action involving the Province of British Columbia, BC Hydro and Conifex Timber Inc, a company that wants huge amounts of electricity for cryptocurrency mining. Eudaimonia sees this court case as a serious warning. If the 300 MW that Conifex wants is half
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: British Columbians sold a bill of goods
Wind and solar are zero-carbon energy sources. When used to produce electricity, these renewables are less harmful to Earth’s climate than hydropower. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a length Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks. It shatters the idea that hydropower is clean energy, free of greenhouse gas
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Low-impact renewables and energy efficiency = JOBS
Before British Columbia’s 2017 general election, a person who would be appointed to a senior position in John Horgan’s cabinet indicated that Site C would not be cancelled. He asked, “Would you eliminate 3,000 jobs?” Months of political theatre followed, directed by Horgan et all, until December 2017 when BC
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