Quebec seeks an injunction against EnergyEast Pipeline

[BFW]

Agree with Blackpowder. Need more sources of energy but new ones need to be tried and tested and proved viable before we shut down the old ones

[oneoff]

I've got nothing against solar power or windpower or any other alternative source of heat used for space heating; industrial manufacturing; lighting or any other use of present or potential energy sources.

But those presently minor energy sources have to been proven to be capable of becoming the sustaining viable long term supply options that can soon operate (on their own economic and practical merits) without huge subsidies and taxation on every other competitor.

That involves admitting that while LED bulbs are highly efficient at light production; they also make your "furnace" work longer and harder because your lights used to be a part of your space heating demands. Remember that LED's will also make a very poor furnace; as will a solar panel in the middle of the night; as will a windmill in a howling blizzard. (The windmill will have been shut down to protect itself from destruction by those excessive winds.) Ergo... we still need that steam fired turbine and nuclear power plant backup and even I predict as primary energy providers of consumer residential and solar ppower manufacturing facilities to name onlly a couple demands.

We need to get back to also discussing how much accommodation there is from Quebec et al over pipelines; how much the activists and vocal people would ever accept for other than their personal choice of farm operation,viewpoints and set ways.

To gain insight on what those persons would ever agree to accept as other persons choices; its pretty evident it boils down to what they currently are promoting in very forceful ways.

And their tillage practices and jet fuel use and travel and globe hopping employees and lack of support for world population control don't bode well for a long term solution of using relatively scarce world resources over a long term period of quality of living for thhe human species (and also the plants and animals along for the ride) c

[oneoff]

Its easy to bring up how well the solar energy sector is expanding. But the fact is that at 100 watts (or so) a panel it takes a lot of panels to make a megawatt.

And don't forget the batteries (and their replacements) and their exhorbitant cost (even prohibitive) that are needed to make a really viable standalone system.

So don't forget to factor in an electrical grid that is still going to be required.

And recognize that 400 coal fired power plants under construction in China is also where the real action is in world energy production and maybe why China isn't currently a part of the present 12 nation Trans Pacific trade zone; and why there's a lot more to economies and countries annd religions and personal self interests than the future of LED light bulbs for example.

Just becauuse crtical mass has been reched amongst popular opinion about how our ancestors and ourselves have chosen as lifestlyes and supposedly been so wrong on all counts...............................

Doesn't mean for one instant that a relative handful of activists and self proclaimed oracles have all the future answers in hand. Granted they do have the ear of those who fear the food that is provided; the environment that is affected by the products the masses desire and lotteries and mind numbiing (or supposedly "expanding" attibutes) etc.

Consider where this is coming from and where everyone is caught up in the tide and heading to.

And those activists and self proclaimed oracles and easily led majority of people also aren't open to hearing anything that violates what they know they know.

[chuckChuck]

Clean disruption? Stanford group plans for 100% green-energy future
Green analysts say fossil-fuel industry could be obsolete by 2030 as clean energy takes over
By James Roberts, CBC News Posted: Mar 02, 2016 11:00 AM ET Last Updated: Mar 02, 2016 12:19 PM ET

A Stanford University team has calculated exactly how Canada can fully move away from fossil fuels, relying on wind, solar and other renewable sources alone.
A Stanford University team has calculated exactly how Canada can fully move away from fossil fuels, relying on wind, solar and other renewable sources alone. (Carlos Barria/Reuters )

The future of clean-energy
The future of clean-energy 11:45

An environmental research team from the prestigious Stanford University in California has calculated exactly how Canada can move away from fossil fuels, transitioning to a totally clean-energy future through existing technologies.

But the assertion that this transition is just over a decade away is the source of hot debate.

Investment in renewables fell by half last year, Clean Energy Canada says
Clean-technology investors call for federal task force
'Historic' Paris climate deal adopted
The Solutions Project has evaluated the wind, water and solar (WWS) potential for all 50 U.S. states and 139 countries around the world, including Canada, providing data on the costs and benefits for each nation.

The goal of the group — which is backed by Hollywood heavyweights Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio — is to ultimately move the world toward 100-per-cent renewable energy use.

After measuring Canada's clean-energy resources, the Stanford team says Canada can reach this goal through the following breakdown:

58 per cent wind.
22 per cent solar.
16 per cent hydro.
Two per cent wave.
Two per cent geothermal.
"That would power Canada for all purposes," says Mark Jacobson, a co-founder of the Solutions Project and a civil and environmental engineering professor at Stanford University, in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Mark Jacobson of Stanford University
Mark Jacobson is a civil and environmental engineering professor at Stanford University and a manager with The Solutions Project. He has drafted roadmaps for 139 nations, outlining how they could move toward 100-per-cent clean energy. (CBC News)

"I feel we know it's technically and economically possible to transition the energy infrastructure, which is built primarily on fossil fuels and nuclear power, to entirely clean, reliable and safe renewable energy," he says.

"In all sectors — electricity, transportation, heating and cooling, agriculture, forestry and fishing — we can transition all those sectors to clean, renewable energy at reasonable cost and make it reliable and make it secure for generations to come."

Eliminating fossil fuels

While Jacobson and the Solutions Project believe that 80 per cent of all energy will be renewable by 2030, there are some, like Stanford business professor Tony Seba, who say this could happen even faster.

Seba, whose advice has been sought in boardrooms from Tokyo to Paris, is confident that solar and wind are key to sweeping away the industrial age of transportation and energy — and fast. He suggests we can reach that magic number of 100 per cent within 15 years.

"The solar-installed capacity has doubled every two years since the year 2000. Doubled every two years," he says. "If you keep doubling that capacity, all you need is seven more doublings in order for solar to be 100 per cent of the world's energy supply."

Seba — also author of Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation — points to the demise of Kodak in 2012 to illustrate what he sees as an impending market disruption in the energy sector.

In the blink of an eye, Kodak, the world's top film-photography company, was forced into bankruptcy by advances in digital photography and photo-sharing.

Tony Seba of Clean Disruption
Tony Seba, right, author of Clean Disruption, speaks with managers at a Nissan electric car factory in Japan. He ambitiously predicts the world could transition to a 100-per-cent clean-energy mix by 2030. (CBC News)

Seba cites bankruptcies in in the coal industry as the "start of the end" for the non-renewable energy sector. According to Bloomberg Business, five major U.S. coal companies have filed for bankruptcy over the last two years.

What's more, the low cost of oil has not slowed investment in clean energy: $367 billion US was invested in green energy in 2015, the Solutions Project says, compared to $253 billion US for fossil fuels.

Silicon Valley driving the transition

Silicon Valley, home to two of the world's most-valuable companies, Apple and Google, is making the case that software engineers and venture capitalists, the people who ushered in the digital revolution, are on the verge of another breakthrough — this time in energy.

The suggestion is that the combination of falling prices for solar power, energy storage and electric vehicles will create serious challenges for fossil-fuel companies in the coming years.

"There's going to be a moment over the next five years where electric cars will be cheaper than the gasoline cars," says Seba. "But, also, it's going to be 10 times cheaper to charge on a per kilometre basis, and it's also 10 to 100 times cheaper to maintain because the electric vehicle has one per cent of the moving parts."

At this point, 20 U.S. states have reached what economists call "grid parity" for solar power: the point at which solar energy costs no more than fossil fuels. Energy research company GTM estimates 42 states will reach that point by 2020.

Meanwhile, the cost of wind power has fallen 61 per cent since 2009 and is still falling.

Adding up the benefits

"No oil. No gas. No coal. And nuclear would be retired. It's all wind, water and solar powering Canada, 100 per cent," says Jacobson.

Such an energy mix would, according to the Solutions Project, lead to a long list of benefits, including the creation of 200,000 additional jobs in the energy sector. That calculation includes 500,000 fossil fuel-related jobs in Canada being transitioned to clean energy.

The Solutions Project
Canada's 100-per-cent green energy mix would rely heavily on wind and solar power, according to the Solutions project. (CBC News)

The group also claims air pollution from burning fossil fuels would be eliminated, saving Canada more than $100 billion every year; energy prices would stabilize; and Canada would be able to reach the target recently set at the Paris climate change summit.

Not so fast

While Silicon Valley is home to many who believe the transition away from fossil fuels will be quick, there are dissenting voices — even among those pushing for the transition.

"The evolution is gradual," says Denis Giorno, president and CEO of Total New Energies, a spin-off company of French energy giant Total, the world's fourth-largest fossil fuels company. "I cannot see a transition where all of a sudden, in 2030, oil won't be necessary."

Though Total is investing in solar power and other renewables, the Silicon Valley-based Giorno questions the ambitious timeline of a possible energy revolution.

"This is a view we do not share at all," he says. "If you look at how much energy we need, and look at the energy metrics of the world, globally, we will still consume, in the best case in 2030, 70 per cent of [our energy] from fossil fuels."

north-tp-cp-wind-673081
About $367 billion US was invested in green energy in 2015, compared to $253 billion US for fossil fuels, the Stanford-based Solutions Project says. ((Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press))

Jacobson believes estimates from oil companies are just plain wrong, and he maintains it is technically possible to transition to 100-per-cent clean energy by 2030.

But he admits the transition will likely take longer "because of political and social reasons." Still, he's betting on an 80-per-cent transition within 15 years.

Seba remains the most optimistic, arguing that innovations from Silicon Valley and high technology in particular will amount to a "clean disruption." His analysis is based purely on economics — and more specifically on falling energy prices.

"Solar, electric vehicles, self-driving cars, storage for the home are technology-driven; they are going to be consumer-driven," he says. "Unsubsidized solar is going to be cheaper than subsidized fossil fuels. Unsubsidized electric vehicles are going to be cheaper than subsidized gas vehicles."

Stranded assets

"My advice for those people who are holding back and claiming their livelihoods are going to be hurt, well, their livelihoods are going to be hurt more if they don't transition," Seba says.

Tracking that transition so far, the Solutions Project calculates that 70 per cent of all the net new electricity generation in the U.S. last year was from wind and solar; another 25 per cent came from natural gas.

Meanwhile in Europe, Jacobson says if you look at the net gains minus losses, "100 per cent of new generation was from clean-energy sources."

Most of the globe's coal, natural gas and oil investments will ultimately be affected by the transition, Seba suggest, at risk of becoming "stranded assets" — resources that lose their value before the expected end of their economic life.

"They are going to be stranded over the next five to 15 years," he maintains. "It's not going to take us over 40 years."

With files from Duncan McCue

[chuckChuck]

Is net zero energy housing possible in Canada?
Steve McLean | Green | Property Biz Canada | 2015-07-23
9

Five builders in four provinces are constructing 26 homes as part of the largest net zero energy community project in Canada.

Owens Corning“We wanted to demonstrate that it’s feasible across Canada, so our objective was to find five production builders that have experience building green in their track process and take it one level further and go net zero,” said Candice Luck, director of strategy and programs for buildABILITY Corporation, a housing industry consulting firm that’s leading the project along with insulation and roofing products manufacturer Owens Corning Canada.

Owens Corning’s Net Zero Housing Community Project is part of the federal government’s ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative. Natural Resources Canada is contributing almost $2 million towards consultancy fees to help the five builders design the houses and create technical specifications they can use in the future.

Building science and technical consultant companies Ameresco Inc., Building Knowledge Canada Inc., MMM Group (formerly Enermodal Engineering Ltd.), HAWK-EYE Technical Services and SAIC Canada are also involved.
Projects in five cities

Construction Voyer is building a three-storey condominium with six units in Laval, Que. Minto Communities is constructing a single detached model home (shown in image) and a row of four townhouses in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata. Mattamy Homes Limited, Provident Development Inc. and Reid’s Heritage Homes are respectively building five single detached homes in Calgary, Halifax and Guelph, Ont. (shown in image under construction).

Project partners include: solar manufacturer Canadian Solar Inc.; window and door manufacturer JELD-WEN; electronics product manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada Inc.; and heating, cooling and water heating solutions company Rheem.

To date in Canada there have been few demonstrations of net zero energy housing on a community scale that are market-ready for production builders. It’s hoped the project will demonstrate affordable net zero energy housing is possible and act as a platform for the broader adoption of net zero energy housing across Canada.

The project is also meant to assess and resolve challenges related to site planning, construction, equipment, grid connections, cost, trade capability, warranties, reliability, sales, marketing, and homebuyer information and education.
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Net zero housing elements

While the houses in each city will be different, they’ll share common elements to help them achieve net zero energy status. They include:

* walls and an envelope with rigid insulation and an exterior air barrier to make things airtight and prevent leakage of warm air in the winter and cooler air during the summer;
* triple-pane windows;
* a higher-than-normal amount of roof insulation;
* a heat recovery ventilator;
* an air source heat pump, which exchanges air between the outside and the inside of the house, as the main heating component instead of a furnace;
* a hybrid heat pump water heater that uses the air source heat pump to heat the house’s water;
* and power generated by electricity supplied through solar photovoltaic panels on the roof, which will also allow homeowners to connect to the electricity grid and offset electricity consumption.

The builders are funding all of the materials and construction costs and aren’t permitted to make a profit on the net zero portion of the houses, but can make their margins on other parts of the residences.

“They’re budget-conscious and they need to build it in a fashion that they can sell it,” said Luck. “They’re very, very careful about what technologies they can include and the consultants that are working with the builders have to keep costs in mind.”

Construction has begun on all four communities and all of the houses are scheduled to be completed by March. A few will have grand openings this fall and the houses will be occupied as soon as they’re finished and purchased.
Importance of net zero

Housing accounts for 17 per cent of Canada’s secondary energy use and 15 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. While significant progress has been made in reducing the energy intensity of individual homes through retrofits and new housing programs, growth in housing stock has contributed to a net 14 per cent increase in household energy use since 1990.

Net zero energy buildings produce at least as much energy as they consume on an annual basis and they’re seen as a means of helping eliminate air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions from energy production. There’s a goal of making net zero energy housing commonplace in North America by 2030, but Luck said that will be dependent on the market approach.

“It’s not going to happen tomorrow. Even in March, when all of these houses are done and we’ve made a case that it’s affordable and doable, builders aren’t going to start doing this right afterwards. But they’ll offer it as an upgrade.

“Building isn’t the biggest hurdle. It’s marketing or having customers understand that they can have a product that has the potential to be net zero, but it really depends on how you operate it.”

There may also be capacity and infrastructure barriers to overcome before widespread adoption of net zero energy housing occurs, as not every utility or region will allow a home to connect to the electricity grid.

But building codes are moving in the right direction and Luck expects incremental steps towards achieving net zero, citing increases in energy efficiency requirements in Ontario that are starting to be followed by other provinces and at the national leve

[chuckChuck]

Inefficient lighting does help heat homes in the winter but adds to the cooling load in summer.

It doesn't make sense to rely on inefficient lighting as a heat source even in winter because there is a lot of energy loss in the transport of electricity on the grid system.

Net zero housing is technologically feasible. The economics of net zero are not good enough at this point but that will changes as the cost of the solar technologies come down.

[farmaholic]

Maybe the Metros should do their part and turn off the A/C until a suitable energy souce, of their approval, is up and running and has fully replaced fossil fuel. Everyone should do their part. Some will have their part imposed and others will "maybe" voluntarily do their's....

[oneoff]

I hope there is a plan to recycle every existing residence that doesn't come close to meeting the energy efficiency standards that are being dreamed about.

And the best way to meet those penalties that will be imposed is to abandon Western Canada...you know that place that most of the rest of the people have always considered uninhabitable.

Coincidentally most of those same people must be the same ones that have swallowed this crap about fossil fuels being totally out of date in a couple decades.

When those activists and supporters get suitable batteries developed; and quit their extravagent wasteful use of energy resources (including the ones they consume on a daily basis; and support populations the world resources can sustain....then maybe someone should start listening to their plans.

To bet one's future on technologies not much advanced than trial stages...if even that...is foolhardy.

The example of the millions of E85 cars than never saw fuels they were designed for; and that run on a fraction of that "eco friendly" booze; and even then ethanol blends only sustained by the arbitrary mandated percentages; because the industry is operating at a loss in todays economic environment

Its absolute crap about cheap abundant energy in the future. It will cost substantially more all the time; and wind and solar will never meet the expectations that some are forecasting.

In fact without subsidy support (and taxes and penalties and regulations it will fall prey to the same fate as ethanol

That is; being useful as octane boosters and replacing lead additives; but just an example of not realizing that in cold weather ethanol content of greater than 70% will cause vehicle owners severe grief. For that reason alone; 85% ethanol will never be available year round in even United States type temperatures.

Wanna bet this leap based on faith and poorly thought out propaganda doesn't turn out well?

[blackpowder]

Ah, Los Angeles, The new leader of Canada.
Drawers of water and hewers of wood again we are.

[blackpowder]

I guess we are all a little guilty of being selfish. I remember when some on here wanted to shut down the patch because they couldnt hire people or get a train. Looks like they get their wish. While average joes income destiny dictated by someone in California.
We all get to shiver and starve while sitting on a pile of inaccesable cash. Hmmm, what would the Chinese do?

[oneoff]

Now for those that want to do something immediate and significant consider the following.

One "associated gas" flare nearby has enough energy for the City of Moose Jaw requirements. As if that is the only flare within 10 miles; or 20 miles or 50 miles. And this has been going on in Sask since the oil industry began.

Last time I looked; (which was only some months ago); SaskPower had 2 Megawatts of solar and wind energy connected to the grid. That is no doubt now low; but it still is a meager drop in the bucket of the provinces electrical demands.

But where's the suport for utilizing wasted flare gas that has alway been considered next to worthless. Might be more true it was more a nuisance and not seen as worth bothering with.

Now for those who want to do something about connecting to the grid and supplying your needs (and even hopefully being a net exporter of energy)..well lots of luck. You just don't connect any generator, or inverter to the electrical grid.

All I can guarantee is that you will encounter multiple times more persons who had the same goal in the past; and for a whole bunch of franchise, liability; economic reality; confiscation measures (depending on contract signed); insurance; maybe "demand charges"; inspection requirements; open ended agreements; and future more stringent requirements over which you have no input as an independent power producer. And etc. etc.

But it is said thats where 50% of Sask Power's future expansion will come from....I seriously doubt if that is realistic. If it does then a lot of the few who have tried; will have needed some additional reassurances.

And a couple of kilowatts of solar here and there just aren't going to make much difference. And even with 100 KW generating capacities; if you are realistic; it just has no business potential. Unless the programs that are in place; and the requirement to accept every small scale connection includes a commitment of the utility to make the process something that producers feel comfortable with and derive some pleasure with doing their part in solving a crown corp dilema.

Not that some; myself included; won't pursue it. But it isn't helpful to have anyone point out that the fossil fuel source should never have been drilled in the first place.

Those same persons probably having derived income from that sector; used its products in the past present and future and are totally dependent on those fuels for their farming enterprises. Their community is primarily dependent on the health of that important Sask resource; and certainly therest of the neighborhood vitally tied to that labeelled "dirty" oil and it poisonous H2S that is sometimes confused with the town lagoon or their own septic tank.

Fussy; particular;picky and deserving of living without todays conveniences... makes one wonder sometimes. Maybe a dose of tolerance is in order.

And yet there are people who would totally destroy the system in the short term; because they must foolishly expect they will be better off. Now that is being selfish and inconsiderate of the rest who are obviously not be so "lucky"

[Hamloc]

Chuck2 preaching again instead of debating getting used to it, I find socialist minds are always closed to outside opinions. Anyway I notice with their proposed energy mix they have zero fossil fuels. Fair enough, so with 58% wind what is used for back up when the weather isn't suitable for energy production. Are they building in battery storage systems? I didn't see any mention of this.

[blackpowder]

Quite overcast here again today. Likely rather dark tonight for 13 hrs.

[oneoff]

Well you can just close off some rooms. That exactly what is happening in Great Britain; amongst those who just can't afford the costs. And it will happen and has happened; just as it does for those without air conditioning during heat waves. Of course that doesn't have much impact on those who foremost look after their interests.

And then of course have those who can afford airfares at any price; point out how energy use has declined.

There is no limit to some people's hypocrisy.

[blackpowder]

We have more oil than sunlight. And who has more sun than oil?