THIS WEEK
What's better than virtual reality? A virtual power plant. Plus, a swell story from Edmonton and some critical intel for aspiring electric car owners.
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POWER PRICES
Can the sequel match the original?
Alberta's renewable auction in 2017 was a resounding success, boasting the lowest prices ever seen for wind power in Canada. The province last week announced that two more renewable energy auctions would be held in 2018—and everyone seems, well, pretty optimistic.
“With the favourable market environment we are in today from a financing perspective and the capital costs of the equipment … coming down, I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t be able to achieve a similar result,” Chris Moscardelli, director of the energy group at Societe Generale, told the Calgary Herald.
Alberta also said that one of the upcoming auctions would require bidders to include partnerships with Indigenous communities, many of which are eager to invest.
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A different kind of power plant
South Australia will soon be home to the world's biggest virtual power plant, fed by solar panels and Tesla batteries installed in at least 50,000 homes. The virtual power plant, an initiative led by the South Australian government, will generate 250MW of power.
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The electric race in India
Korean car maker Hyundai is zooming ahead of the competition to be the first international automaker to bring an electric car to India, the world's largest country. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants all new cars sold in the country to be electric by 2030.
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The best kind of revelation
A church in Edmonton has downsized and used its freed-up land to build net-zero homes for immigrant families. In addition to a smaller church, the land now includes 16 townhomes and a daycare.
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Attention: present and future urban EV owners
What happens if you own an electric car and live in a condo? The answer is, it depends on the condo, as many condo boards are just getting up to speed on the logistics of charging. Provinces, meanwhile, are looking at policy options to help the process along. They should look to California, which requires condos to cooperate if the driver pays for the installation.
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Building better in B.C.
In December, the B.C. Energy Step Code came into effect, which allows communities in the province to require energy efficiency in new buildings to go above and beyond provincial requirements.
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Canadian solar companies invoke NAFTA
Three Canadian solar panel makers aren't happy with America's new 30% tariff on solar cell imports—and have filed a lawsuit accordingly. The International Trade Commission had already concluded that Canadian solar imports don't significantly harm U.S. manufacturers; the companies say the tariff should exempt them as it goes against NAFTA.
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That's one cloudy crystal ball
The U.S. federal government's Energy Information Administration has new energy projections. In a word, they're... questionable. (That's putting it nicely.) For one, they assume solar farms cost twice as much as they actually did last year. Here's analysis on everything wrong with the new projections.
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Know your source
Blockchain could be used to track the journey of cobalt from the mine all the way to use in, say, an electric car. The goal is to give manufacturers a way to guarantee cobalt from the Congo wasn't mined by children. And here's another way to get cobalt: recycling.
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Climate modelling for dummies
More and more, scientists are weighing in on specific extreme weather events—and the likeliness that human actions played a role in them. The reason? Climate modelling is more powerful than ever before thanks to improved technology and data sharing.
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Clean Energy Review is sponsored in part by Genus Capital Management, a leading provider of fossil-fuel-free investments.
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Our new private Facebook group is now live! Join and share the group to connect with and support fellow Canadians powering our sustainable future.
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IMAGE & MEDIA CREDITS
Featured photo: Joan Sullivan
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