| Energy Transition Group (ETG) |
| The Energy Transition Group has been formed by individuals from the University of Northern BC (UNBC) and the Prince George Electric Vehicle Association (PG EVA) to encourage informative discussions with guest experts about all aspects of the ongoing energy transition. |
|
Welcome To The May Energy Transition Group Newsletter
Reoccurring Monthly Events
Upcoming EV Events
New BC Hydro Incentives For Roof Mounted Solar And/Or Batteries
World’s Largest Heat Pump
A New Report: Powering Canada: A Blueprint for Success
Health Benefits Of Reduced Sulphur And Nitrogen Dioxides
Energy Security
Cost Of Climate Change
A Magic Machine That Captures Carbon
Death Toll for Petrol
ETG Youtube Playlist
Decarbonizing Remote Communities – Virtual Summit
100-MWh (Worlds Largest) Sodium-ion Battery Energy Storage Facility
Canadian North Signs Deal To Design Airship
Solar Co-ops Share Clean Energy Across Communities
Electric Ferry
The Transition to a Sustainable Energy Future
The energy transition comes in two ways
The Refinery Of The Future
Hydrogen Airplane Company Files For Creditor Protection
Battery Electric Airplane With 2,000-kilometer Range
Toyota Mirai Versus BEV Per kWh
A Town Is Pioneering Bidirectional V2X EV Charging Stations
Time To Prepare For A Future Where Oil And Gas Have Faded
Alberta’s Electrical Grid
New Truth-In-Advertising Rule
Ultradeep Geothermal In BC
The Right To Repair
Industry/Government Governance
Big Polluters Get To Sidestep BC’s Carbon Tax
Canadian Government Consults On Chinese EVs
EV Lobby Letter To Political Parties
ETG Topic Ideas
ETG Guest Presenter Ideas:
|
|
Welcome To The May Energy Transition Group Newsletter
The Energy Transition Group is open to discussing any energy transition related topics as guided by your input.
Please provide information for sharing in future Energy Transition Group Newsletters and for discussion at our monthly Energy Transition Group meetings
Reoccurring Monthly Events
Upcoming EV Events
Touch a Truck Event
The Prince George Public Library ever-popular Touch a Truck event!
Friday August 23, 2024 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Canada Games Plaza (in front of the Civic Centre and Bob Harkins Branch of the Prince George Public Library)
Valemount EV Event
Friday,September 27 at the Valemount high school
|
|
New BC Hydro Incentives For Roof Mounted Solar And/Or Batteries
From BC Hydro: On June 27, the Government of B.C.announced that we're introducing new rebates for customers looking to install solar panels and battery energy storage systems. To be eligible for rebates,installations and connections must meet all eligibility requirements and be completed after the program officially launches – prior installations don't qualify.
Full eligibility details and information on how to apply will be available to customers when the program officially launches later this summer.
We are inviting industry to join us for a webinar, where we will provide information on the new rebates in advance of the launch.
Date: Tuesday, July 16th 2024
Time: 8 – 9:30 a.m. PST
Location: Online (Microsoft Teams). Those registered will receive a link to join the webinar a few days prior.
Register to attend (or to receive information following the information session): https://app.bchydro.com/accounts-billing/electrical-connections/self-generation/industry-webinar.html
Other preliminary information on the new rebates: https://www.bchydro.com/powersmart/residential/rebates-programs/solar-battery.html
Updated information from BC Hydro indicates:
[BC Hydro] will accept rebate applications for eligible solar generation projects (with or without a battery)installed after June 27th that have received approval for net metering. Net metering applications must have been submitted on or after May 1, 2024. Rebate applications for battery only projects installed prior to program launch in late July are not eligible for the retroactive rebate.
The rebate program is only available for solar and battery energy storage systems connected to the BC Hydro grid.
Full rebate details will be available to customers at http://www.bchydro.com/solarrebate when [BC Hydro] launch the rebate in late July.
World’s Largest Heat Pump
A heat pump, this one happening to be the world’s largest heat pump, that extracts heat from salt water.
Germany’s MAN Energy Solutions is constructing the world’s largest heat pump in the Danish harbor town of Esbjerg. This ambitious project is set to provide zero-emission and environmentally friendly heating to approximately 25,000 households and benefit around 100,000 people starting from the winter of 2023.
https://www.theoligo.com/german-company-constructs-worlds-largest-heat-pump-in-esbjerg-denmark-paving-the-way-for-sustainable-heating-for-100000-people/
A New Report: Powering Canada: A Blueprint for Success
The Minister of Natural Resources convened the Canada Electricity Advisory Council (“the Council”) in May 2023 to advise on policies to enable the electricity sector to play its pivotal role in Canada’s transition to net-zero.
The council attempted to address a dual challenge: to decarbonize the existing electricity systems, while also rapidly growing capacity to meet new demand.
They report out their assessment/findings in a report: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/our-natural-resources/energy-sources-distribution/electricity-infrastructure/the-canada-electricity-advisory-council/powering-canada-blueprint-for-success/25863
While the overview provided in the report is impressive, and many of the recommendations are sound – especially as the council only met for a total of 100 hours over the year that this report represents – there are many disappointing elements to the report. For example, they:
These disappointments are not likely surprising as the council membership does not appear to include much in the way of progressive environmental and social representation.
They note the energy transition . . . will shape infrastructure investments, reconfigure employment markets and supply chains, and redefine Canada’s standing for foreign investment attraction and the competitiveness of its exports. It will also change how Canadians heat their homes and buildings, propel vehicles, and power industrial activity.
Extracts:
Earliest innovations in electricity and Canada’s electricity grid began in the 1880s.
|
|  |
The predicted range of electricity generation trajectories is shown, with a low of approximately 1,000 TWh to a high of 1,800 TWh in 2050.
In 1950 Canada produced less than 50 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year, while Canada now produces more than 500 TWh per year.
Electricity’s share of Canada’s energy consumption is currently around 20%. Most studies find that to achieve the country’s goals in the most cost-efficient way, electricity’s market share will need to grow roughly threefold within a single generation. At that point, it would be the country’s primary form of energy supply.
Canadian annual emissions totaled 708 MtCO2e in 2022. Of this total, 47 Mt CO2ewas from the Canadian electricity sector. Thus, while composing 20% of Canada’s energy portfolio, it only produces7% of Canada’s emissions.
Following the Council’s strategy, it is anticipated that cleaning the electrical grid (reducing the associated carbon emissions) and transitioning to using more electrical technology could potentially reduce emissions by 268 MT CO2e in 2050.
Doug’s question: does this mean that in 2050 we are still emitting 440 Mt CO2e per year of the old emissions, plus we are emitting additional CO2e from all the subsequent to 2022 oil and gas expansion? This would only be a 37% decrease from 2022levels if no additional emissions occur due to oil and gas expansion. This does not sound very encouraging!
Arguably the single biggest part of this transition comes down to electricity. Why? Because electricity can be produced emissions-free, can move across vast distances, can be produced in a multitude of ways using natural resources available in every region of the country, and can be consumed with extreme efficiency.
|
|  |
And as David Oh explained during lastmonths presentation, this figure shows the difficult current situation faced bythe far north with respect to the supply of clean electricity.
|
|  |
Caveats aside, the Council finds there is sufficient evidence to suggest that most Canadians stand to see lower over all energy-related costs from the switch to electricity.
The net impact on households is their energy bills decline. On the whole,Canadians could expect to save $15 billion in total energy-related costs.
Open data-sharing frameworks can enable innovation and enhance investment opportunities.
Trust in the models, input data, and assumptions used to inform public policy and investment in the electricity sector is critical for maintaining industry and public confidence indecision-making and for enhancing policy certainty. Unfortunately, privacy,security, and confidentiality concerns often limit the availability and sharing of data between sector stakeholders, which impacts the development of effective policies, contributes to industry confusion and frustration with federal decision-making, undermines the confidence in federal and utility policy and investment decisions, and amplifies investor uncertainty. In addition, carbon intensity data, which is growing in importance, is not currently available for electricity systems in Canada.
Achieving Canada’s net-zero goals will require adding an average of 10 GW of new clean electricity generation per year. |
|  |
Health Benefits Of Reduced Sulphur And Nitrogen Dioxides
A study, recently published in Cell Reports Sustainability, evaluates the benefits of wind and solar generation through reducing sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
https://emp.lbl.gov/news/new-study-finds-us-wind-and-solar-generation-provided-249-billion-climate-and-air?mkt_tok=MTg4LVZEVS0zNjAAAAGTtWCx5746KhkBzTE9sw9yqG71cE2lsZmKY4JFLnsyqqtI6BL5cF0umlFWsTpJf06nfMHXxOfrInOr6ETxCmoQrHS1kXeXRsvpuKUF6RfidQmV
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-sustainability/fulltext/S2949-7906(24)00165-4?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2949790624001654%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
The reports findings suggest the increased supply of renewable energy in the U.S. from2019 to 2022 is substantially reducing sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxides in the atmosphere. The cleaner air provides$249 billion in climate and health benefits.
Total climate benefits are estimated to be3.6 cents/kWh-of-wind and 1.7 cents/kWh-of-solar. Wind and solar electrical generation helped reduce enough SO2 and NOx emissions to prevent 1,200 to 1,600 premature mortalities in the United States.
In addition, the total health benefits are estimated to be 10.7 cents/kWh-of-wind, 8.3 cents/kWh-of solar.
Energy Security
In terms of coal, oil and gas versus renewable energy, the economic advantages of the latter are undeniable and multiplying. Renewable energy costs less, offers greater energy security,is subject to far less market volatility, is reliable and doesn’t pollute as much.
https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/canadian-energy-security-renewables?mkt_tok=MTg4LVZEVS0zNjAAAAGTtWCx54e5leWc4TgdtW1K53FsZsfK6Bdx1kztu4BR6aR9URk07tcXxFlutd8NQcZ1SanVHCw3eVkJA6yNXob1vOvBYd_Q1pBglTPdOm_tahy6
Cost Of Climate Change
A study reported in Nature estimates climate change-related extreme weather damages from 2000 to 2019cost around $143 billion per year globally. These costs are increasing with a sevenfold increase in the reported disaster losses from extreme weather since the 1970s.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41888-1?mkt_tok=MTg4LVZEVS0zNjAAAAGTtWCx5yAJXURhHo4drA8qz-GnhWn7GdHHEJ8SrEsMNTEjaMWJbCYjZehhFrEF-Fb99CN_CqwAeiKKHYSrHdy0YGSpfCbMx4ND3MBIs7dyZak7
The Canadian Climate Institute suggests proportionately similar costs occurring in Canada due to heat domes, floods,drought, rising insurance rates and cost-of-living increases.
Climate-related damages increase the average household’s cost of living by $700 each year, in the form of higher grocery bills due to supply-chain disruptions, to rising home insurance premiums and tax hikes to pay for disaster recovery and infrastructure repairs.
Over the past five decades, the costs of weather-related disasters like floods, storms,and wildfires in Canada have risen from tens of millions of dollars to billions of dollars annually. Between 2010 and 2019, insured losses for catastrophic weather events totalled over $18 billion, and the number of catastrophic events was over three times higher than in the 1980s.
https://climateinstitute.ca/climate-damages-inflating-costs-of-living-for-every-canadian/?mkt_tok=MTg4LVZEVS0zNjAAAAGTtWCx57FW2pLBlmy-KJrN90N7nlKAwQobmgEUCaaljtWNB7XiFmcCHEqba0pEr_e0eN3P5SdhcdHcVo7xVtYaQUoXduYQbuI7SU-1K-OhJ_tA
Delays to transitioning to electric technologies is costly.
A Magic Machine That Captures Carbon
This 3.5 minute video includes simple solutions to fix our broken climate. It also includes this fun quote from George Monbiot: There is a magic machine that sucks carbon out of the air, costs very little, and builds itself. It’s called . . . a tree. A tree is an example of a natural climate solution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0B6AxeVNY8
Death Toll for Petrol
Stephen Rader brings this podcast episode to our attention: The Energy Transition Show (podcast) with Chris Nelder |
|  | [Episode #110] – Death Toll for Petrol | The Energy Transition Show
xenetwork.org
https://xenetwork.org/ets/episodes/episode-110-death-toll-for-petrol/ (21 minute free mini-episode)
All-in-all,it explains there is a lot of lost/wasted energy associated with fossil fueled vehicles as compared to vehicles fueled with electricity. Implying that in the long run, oil prices would need to drop drastically for conventional cars to remain competitive with EVs running on renewables. The show is based on the price of oil at $60 per barrel as of 2019, while as of June 11,2024 oil is $82 US per barrel.
ETG Youtube Playlist
Our intent has been to record the ETG presentations so you can watch them latter and search for details.
A library of these sessions are being posted at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLooNBVehA56DSlUkM1PYDbW-0-MwAhZLI
The first recorded presentation posted is last months presentation by David Oh on the energy transition in the north. A direct link to this 1.5 hour video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw1Gqbb0y78
Decarbonizing Remote Communities – Virtual Summit
David Oh, provides this article and video presentations from the Canadian Consulting Engineers Virtual Summit held April 11, 2024. The topics discussed during this Virtual Summit relate to his recent presentation:
.. . the federal government is incentivizing communities across the country to switch away from traditional hydrocarbons to emissions-free and/or renewable energy sources. This switch, which can help wean residential, commercial and industrial facilities off of increasingly costly diesel and natural gas, is also intended to help meet goals relating to First Nations prosperity, equity and business development.
https://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/virtual-events/decarbonizing-remote-communities-virtual-summit/
The key note presentation by Michael Wrinch, president and CEO of Vancouver-headquartered Hedgehog Technologies (an electromechanical engineering firm) https://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/ve-agenda/keynote-past-current-and-future-efforts-to-decarbonize-remote-communities/ (37 minutes)
*Note regarding lithium batteries – the battery warmer in my 2013 Nissan Leaf begins warming the lithium batteries when their temperature gets to -17C or colder and stops warming when the battery gets to -10C. As far as I know, you can charge the battery as long as it is -20C or warmer – and this has to do with the way the Leaf is programmed, as the battery will function reasonably well even when it is -25C.
A discussion of 5 panellist: https://youtu.be/m8bx912ajxI (1 hour 5 minute video) comprised of:
Jean Blair, director of planning and outreach at TorchLight Bioresources I think this is the dashboard they showed https://torchlightbioresources.com/canadian-bioheat-database
*Note, the dashboard indicates they are assuming biomass to have zero net combustion emissions. A reminder that previous PG EVA and ETG Newsletters have suggested heating with wood produces 2.67 times the carbon emissions as compared to heating with natural gas.
Kevin Brown, energy department manager and climate action co-ordinator, Old Massett Village Council, which governs and manages Haida Gwaii and its surrounding waters in British Columbia
Mark Heyck, former mayor of Yellowknife and executive director of Arctic Energy Alliance
Nathan Tedford, director of nuclear technologies at Hatch
Brian Walmark, Fort Severn First Nation community member and advisor
100-MWh (Worlds Largest) Sodium-ion Battery Energy Storage Facility
The energy storage station can store 100,000 kWh of electricity on a single charge,which can meet the needs of around 12,000 households for a day.
Compared to lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries are seen as having richer raw material reserves, lower costs, and better performance at low temperatures.
https://cnevpost.com/2024/07/02/world-largest-sodium-battery-energy-storage-project-in-operation/
Canadian North Signs Deal To Design Airship
The northern airline says airships could reduce cargo costs.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/canadian-north-signs-deal-to-launch-airships-in-the-north-1.6899363
Stephen Rader shared this recent article about airships in the north. In addition to this relating to last months presentation and discussion lead by David Oh, Stephen dreams of a day when we will travel the world in slow, quiet comfort, emission-free in airships.
This interesting concept has enamoured me since the 1970’s. Even so, about 5 years ago a retired Canadian Colonel suggested the helium shortage may get in the way of my seeing the financial success of lighter-than-air vehicles in operation.
Add to that, Canadian North has not invested any money with this memorandum of understanding.
Canadian North hasn't contributed any money to Flying Whales and the project is only in the design phase. The earliest that design will be complete is 2025. It will need to be approved by Transport Canada.
The Quebec government has also signed a dealwith Flying Whales, contributing $30 million to get the idea off the ground.
That said, it was not that long ago that some companies with deep pockets were in the process of getting these airships ready for operation – then, their activities went silent at the time of the 2008/2009 recession.
The Lockheed Martin Hybrid Air Vehicle has been transferred https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2023-05-09-Hybrid-Airship-Enters-the-Transfer-Portal to AT2 Aerospace https://www.at2aero.space/
In 2016 Straightline Aviation https://www.straightlineaviation.com/ had a signed letter of intent to buy 12 airships in a deal worth about $480 million https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/airship-zeppelin-straightline-deal-alberta-oilsands-1.3512562 |
|  | |  | |  |
The energy transition comes in two ways
David Read shares this article with an interesting perspective. The energy transition comes in two ways: First slowly, then suddenly
The transition to less expensive renewable energy is driven by basic economics - due to the cost savings and due to an interest in being self-reliant.
Recent pro-carbon energy policies are failing to stem the tide to renewable energy,for the simple reason that renewable energy is less expensive than coal produced energy.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-the-energy-transition-comes-in-two-ways-first-slowly-then-suddenly/
Let me know if you wish to read this pay to read article – I may be able to help you out.
The Refinery Of The Future
Stephen Rader shares this article from the Journal of Nature with an interesting perspective. The refinery of the future.
I personally find this article disappointing – or at least it does not paint the future as I envision - as in great detail it discusses many different – and mostly not yet technically capable – methods of deviating from our existing oil, gas and plastics processes in supposedly cleaner ways. The article does not compare the costs of these ‘new’ processes with any of the competing technologies (i.e. battery electric and direct electric technologies).
I believe the article is likely accurate with its assessment that long distance air travel and shipping will not be fulfilled with 100% battery electric nor hydrogen in the near-term. Until additional developments occur in either or both of these technologies, there will be a shift to utilizing fuels made from agricultural and municipal waste to make these activities possibly a little less damaging – recognizing carbon emissions are 2.67 times greater when heating with wood as compared to heating with natural gas.
Following are extracts from the lengthy article:
Fossil fuels—coal, oil and gas—supply most of the world’s energy and also form the basis of many products essential for everyday life.
This future refinery will require substantially larger areas and greater mineral resources than is the case at present and critically depends on the capacity to generate large amounts of renewable energy for hydrogen production and carbon dioxide capture.
We also highlight some possible show-stoppers, which include the need for large amounts of renewable energy and so-called critical chemical elements to construct all the necessary hardware.
Today’s refinery and associated petrochemical complex produce essentially all transport fuels and the essential raw materials for polymers (plastics, resins, fibres), detergents, coatings, construction chemicals and medicine.
If we could convert some or all of this emitted CO2 back into useful products, we could substantially contribute to a carbon-neutral society. For this reason, we analyse in this Perspective the options for using CO2 as the carbon source for transport fuels and considering plastic waste and biomass (that may already contain desired chemical features) as raw materials for producing polymer monomers and chemicals.
This above assumption is very main stream thinking that greatly resists the transition which is really occurring.
Although refineries of today convert mostly crude oil, we predict a gradual change to the refinery input stream so that only CO2 and agricultural and municipal waste(which includes biomass and plastics) are used in 2050.
Refinery output streams are also expected to change substantially in response to transport electrification and use of fuel cell vehicles, which could largely eliminate the demand for gasoline products by as early as 2050. It is expected that a few modes of transport, such as long-distance aviation and heavy and marine transport, will still require high-energy-density hydrocarbon fuels(although these might be gradually replaced by an alternative liquid energy source, such as ammonia or methanol).
The production of H2 requires 50–58 kWh per kg H2 (ref. 107) or 1 MW for roughly every 18 kg H2 produced per hour, which equates to 5.5 GW of electrical power needed to produce 2.4 kt H2 per day.
Why use a lot of electricity to make other fuels – why not just use that electricity directly? All the proposed energy conversion is very inefficient, as every time you convert energy from one form to another, you lose energy. This also means you need to produce more electricity to do the same work, thus the environmental impacts, emissions and resources used are increased.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07322-2
Let me know if you wish to read this pay to read article – I may be able to help you out.
Hydrogen Airplane Company Files For Creditor Protection
In the May 7th 2023 edition of the PG EVA we noted:
On Thursday March 2nd, a turboprop De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 retrofitted with a large tank of hydrogen in the back took off from Moses Lake in a brief pioneering flight, in which a portion of the flight was flown almost exclusively on hydrogen. Hydrogen is pumped from the tank to fuel cells that convert the hydrogen to electricity to power an electric motor that turns the propeller shaft.
This achievement was made by a company called Universal Hydrogen.
On June 27th 2024 the Chairman and CEO and Universal Hydrogen informed shareholders the company will close down after efforts to raise further financing from new investors failed.
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/universal-hydrogen-pioneer-of-hydrogen-powered-flight-goes-bust/
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/pioneering-moses-lake-flight-uses-hydrogen-to-power-regional-airplane/
Battery Electric Airplane With 2,000-kilometer Range
CATL, the world’s largest EV battery maker, successfully tested a 4-ton electric plane (the size of a Cessna Caravan) powered by its ultra-high energy density battery.
By 2028, CATL expects to reveal an 8-ton civil electric aircraft with around 1,200 to 1,800 miles (2,000 to 3,000 km) range.
An 8-ton aircraft is a far cry from a 31-ton Boeing 737 or a 41-ton Airbus A320, but a Learjet 70/75 weighs in at just over 7 tons and can fly with nine passengers on board, which appears to be the market CATL is initially targeting.
https://electrek.co/2024/06/25/catl-successfully-tests-electric-plane-1800-mile-model-nears/
https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/advanced-air-mobility/catl-condensed-battery-has-flown-4-ton-aircraft
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/catl-worlds-largest-ev-battery-manufacturer-aircraft/#:~:text=Chinese%20battery%20giant%20CATL%20says%20it%27s%20successfully%20flown,3%2C000%20km%20%281%2C240-1%2C865%20miles%29%20operating%20in%203-4%20years.
Toyota Mirai Versus BEV Per kWh
A Toyota Mirai has a range of about 400 kms from a 5.6 kg tank of hydrogen. That works out to 71 kms per kg of hydrogen. https://www.motortrend.com/news/2021-toyota-mirai-hydrogen-fuel-cell-sedan-key-takeaways/
Assuming it takes 50 to 58 kWh to produce 1 kg of hydrogen as noted in the article above, a comparable battery electric vehicle (BEV) – with a fuel efficiency of6.3 kms per kWh – would travel 315 to 365 kms on the same amount of electricity as used to produce 1 kg of hydrogen. Thus, the BEV travels 4 to 5 times as many kms per kWh as compared to the hydrogen vehicle.
Thus, why do we even consider using hydrogen?
A Town Is Pioneering Bidirectional V2X EV Charging Stations
The town of Victoriaville in south central Quebec selected 3 municipal buildings to install V2X EV charging stations.
This pioneering deployment of bidirectional V2X (vehicle-to-everything) electric vehicle charging stations will power the municipal buildings during periods of peak electrical demand and when there are power outages.
By choosing to use electric vehicles as the primary backup instead of traditional diesel generators, Victoriaville is making a significant stride toward sustainability.
This innovative project has significant potential for replication in other municipalities and institutions.
https://www.cleo.eco/en/news/charging-stations-victoriaville-and-cleo-join-forces-to-launch-unprecedented-project-in-canada/
Time To Prepare For A Future Where Oil And Gas Have Faded
Canada is an energy superpower. It is true, as Alberta points out, the central importance of Canada’s current economy is the oil and gas sector. |
|  |
The second core truth is that the entire world has embarked on a clear path to transition to net zero carbon emissions.
|
|  | |  | https://albertaev.ca/
New Truth-In-Advertising Rule
The omnibus Bill C-59, which passed third reading in the Senate Wednesday and will soon become law, contains a truth-in-advertising amendment that would require corporations across all industries to provide evidence to support their environmental claims, CP writes.
While this new rule applies to all businesses and economic sectors, it is interesting the extent fossil fuel companies and organizations are removing content from their websites and social media.
The Pathways Alliance, whose six members account for about 95% of Canada’s oil sands production, has scrubbed all messaging from its website and social media feeds . . .
The Pathways Alliance includes Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Cenovus Energy Inc., ConocoPhillips Canada, Imperial Oil Ltd., MEG Energy Corp. and Suncor Energy Inc.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), long known as the country’s “apex oil and gas lobby”, has also scaled back its website . . .
This new rule may also be what caused the Alberta government to close down its Canada energy “war room” by absorbing the war room operations into the provincial intergovernmental affairs ministry.
https://www.theenergymix.com/breaking-oil-sands-lobby-scrubs-website-after-greenwashing-curbs-pass-parliament/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/pathways-alliance-bill-c59-oilsands-1.7241078
As of 7:59 pm June 24, 2024, Pathways Alliance https://pathwaysalliance.ca/ has changed the content of all of their websites that I checked to state: |
|  |
I look forward to seeing the extent the new content that is supported by facts and truths is consistent (or not consistent) with the corporate messages of the past.
The truth-in-advertising amendment of Bill C-59 will be a little more efficient and effective than the existing slow and secretive process of the Ad Standards,a national non-profit tasked with self-regulation for the advertising industry.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2024/05/31/Leaked-Decision-Slams-LNG-Ads-Greenwashing/?mkt_tok=MTg4LVZEVS0zNjAAAAGT_Xn_HKa7JccdYitDFc-FCZJ9Y2a0COBjucKqXdkmnoa_x7_pwhJBFISdMIRsWOU6gzlqfT08nAhRdNLkQsiJhX_F0BRTC68JkiDY807aVAaR
Ultradeep Geothermal In BC
.. . geothermal energy has been mostly overlooked because of the extreme difficulties of drilling deep enough into Earth's crust to access unlimited geothermal reserves . . .
Will this ground breaking (pun intended) technology reduce the cost of drilling deep holes to access geothermal energy?
https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/quaise-geothermal-energy-drilling-gyrotron/?mc_cid=27c5ec7f7c&mc_eid=974f9ac839
Royal Roads University near Victoria BC have received over $3 million in funding in an attempt to make ultradeep geothermal a success.
https://www.royalroads.ca/news/cascade-institute-receives-major-funding-geothermal-energy?mc_cid=27c5ec7f7c&mc_eid=974f9ac839
The Right To Repair
Stephen Rader shares this Narwhal article with respect to The Right To Repair EVs and other products.
The “right to repair” principle — the right of consumers and independent shops to affordably access the proprietary equipment, tools, diagnostics and information needed to fix and prolong the life of an object after it is purchased.
It is in all of our interests to ensure independent service stations and vehicle owners obtain The Right To Repair.
With respect to EVs, independent mechanics are being charged more for parts, and the parts once ordered are taking longer to be delivered to the independent mechanics.
.. . at the moment, south of the border, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is reviewing a repair bill that would mandate auto manufacturers to provide information relating to diagnostics, repair and services to the vehicle’s owner upon request. In Canada, a broader repair bill C-244, amending the Copyright Act, will allow Canadians to access their own data to diagnose and fix certain products, including vehicles.
https://thenarwhal.ca/toronto-electric-vehicle-mechanics/?utm_source=The+Narwhal&utm_campaign=de5017fbc2-June+27+2024+%E2%80%94+Newsletter+%E2%80%94+members&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f6a05fddb8-de5017fbc2-108519327
Industry/Government Governance
Stephen Rader shares this Narwhal article noting an example of procedural and ongoing Industry/Government Governance.
ATC Energy executive and former senior B.C. NDP political staffer has resigned after a video surfaced of him appearing to discuss covert efforts the energy giant allegedly uses to push Canadian governments toward approving liquefied natural gas projects.
We've been given opportunities to write entire briefing notes for ministers and premiers and prime ministers,' Liam Iliffe told attendees at a TC Energy 'lunch and learn' session.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/tc-energy-covert-lobbying-video
The problem of Industry/Government Governance is not restricted to the fossil fuel industry.
The problem with Industry/Government governance structures are that government decisions, management and oversight is designed to benefit the industry which has biased access to designing such processes. This means the citizens of BC and Canada, and the indigenous communities(the owners of the resource) receive less net benefit, increased damage and end up paying more in taxes.
Related articles:
Burrier also said he and his colleagues helped with efforts to weaken a “climate scheme that British Columbia was advancing.”
“I won’t bore you with the details here because it does get pretty technical but we helped … the team in B.C. with assessing the proposals and providing recommendations and, lo and behold, it worked,” he said. “The final recommendations came out and in the next few years we’ll see savings of hundreds of millions of dollars in compliance costs and it factors up to billions if you look out at 25 years from now.”
https://thenarwhal.ca/tc-energy-trump-staffers-csis/?mkt_tok=Nzc0LVNITy0yMjgAAAGUIfhDS4ujM5HJkcD-XE_D1HFQqh1pgnrNraST8Me9_KpKs_HWD5UQAJgSeIZwnPM-QEEeNMLfLBDbUQhierHwOAC4yMFODe7rIaOPpYhERR4
.. . Iliffe starts to outline strategies he says the multinational fossil fuelcompany uses to influence provincial, federal and state governments in Canada,the United States and Mexico.
Speaking for 42 minutes, Iliffe goes on to claim TC Energy has surreptitiously influenced many major policy decisions.
.. . “we’ve been given opportunities to write entire briefing notes for ministers and premiers and prime ministers and it gets stuck on government letterhead.”
https://thenarwhal.ca/tc-energy-leak-investigation/
Big Polluters Get To Sidestep BC’s Carbon Tax
When BC first introduced a carbon tax in 2008 the point was to apply it to all emissions causing climate change, but start at a low rate and increase it overtime. Yet, as the carbon tax has increased for households at the gas pump and to heat homes, large industrial players—including the oil and gas industry that is causing climate change—have steadily evaded their carbon tax.
Industrial polluter carbon tax breaks include:
If BC really wants to be a climate leader, the BC government must stop pandering to lobbying by the oil and gas industry that is causing climate change and act in the interests of all people in BC. Furthermore, these industry-friendly moves make no sense in the face of the climate crisis.
https://www.policynote.ca/carbon-tax/
Canadian Government Consults On Chinese EVs
- This was included in the PG EVA Newsletter –
On July 2nd, the Canadian Government launched30-days (from July 2, 2024 to August 1, 2024) of consultation on Chinese EVs.
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2024/07/canada-launches-consultation-to-protect-canadian-workers-and-electric-vehicle-supply-chains-from-unfair-chinese-trade-practices.html
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/programs/consultations/2024/consultations-on-potential-policy-responses-to-unfair-chinese-trade-practices-in-electric-vehicles.html
But, will protecting North America’s auto manufactures (some who already produce some of their vehicles in China) really help? Or will North American advancements stagnate from reduced competition as the Soviet Union experienced following WWII?
Do legacy North American auto-manufacturers - who have resisted the transition to EVs -deserve protection?
What would these tariffs mean to advancements towards cleaner air?
What would these tariffs mean to Green House Gas emissions?
What would these tariffs mean to inflation?
Doug Beckett ldb@pgbeckett.ca would appreciate hearing your thoughts and considerations.
EV Lobby Letter To Political Parties
- This was included in the PG EVA Newsletter –
A number of EV Associations and groups recently sent a letter to provincial political parties, in attempt to influence the parties to adopt policies to expedite the transition to EVs. This is in light of the upcoming BC election.
The proposed policies intend to ensure BC continues to be a leader in the EVs phere.
In the run up to the October 19th election, we ask that you share the policy recommendations with your MLA and with all candidates in the upcoming election for your riding. You are also encouraged to use these policies through your websites, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other communication platforms. |
|  |  |  |
To help promote and gain attention to these proposed policies, we need to produce feature stories and sound bites. Please provide us with suggestions for such production - or better yet, produce and share your feature stories and sound bites with us.
Summary Of Energy Transition Group Objectives
The Energy Transition Group is open to discussing any energy transition related topics. All you have to do is let us know of the topic that interests you. It is even better if you can suggest one or more individuals we could invite to be a guest expert on that topic.
The intent is to attend to all topics at some point in time, but with our meetings being once per month it will take much time to get through the list. Your suggestions and ranking will guide which topics we will attend to in the short-term.
A round table session held during our first meeting in January,noted a desire:
to understand the operational reality of personal, small complex, neighbourhood and small community energy generation through solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, etc. systems.
to understand technology such as electric-powered heat pumps (air source and geothermal, ductless and central units), electric tank-less water heater, hot water heat pump/heat ventilator systems.
to understand if wood fibre insulation may play a role in the energy transition
to learn about High Performance Enclosures.
to understand whether microgrids networked together are advantageous to huge centralised command grids.
We have not yet created a Purpose Statement for our group.
ETG Topic Ideas
The following is in no particular order. Please provide Doug Beckettldb@pgbeckett.ca your ranking of this list – and provide additional topics and guest experts.
First - forgive me if I did not list one of your suggestions, then prompt us to ensure your suggestion get’s listed.
Construction And Insulation
Economics and realities of different sources of energy
How much does it cost to make and deliver electricity via differing modes of electrical production(i.e. hydro, wind, grid-tied solar, off-grid solar, geothermal, natural gas, nuclear,biomass, biofuels, coal)?
How much does it cost to heat with differing technologies (electrical heat pump, natural gas furnace)?
Is offshore wind coming to Canada/BC?
Underground carbon storage, carbon mineralization in Canada
Energy Storage
Comparisons of using Battery Walls, EVs,hydrogen, hydro dams, gravity, hydro pumps to store energy. For both the residential and the regional context.
Biomass
What is the source material for the biomass (i.e. primary forest, old growth, unused material from harvesting,industrial waste)?
What are the true carbon emissions?
Are the carbon emissions from biomass better than from other energy sources?
Is the information in this BBC Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lAlqhyaMQQ worthy of discussion and consideration?
Have somebody explain how wood releases 2.67 times the carbon as compared to natural gas – as from Stoichiometry:
|
|  |
Biofuels
Hydrogen Fuel-cell Technology
What are the various emissions to make hydrogen, to transport hydrogen, to store hydrogen and to use hydrogen? How do these emissions compare to using hydro,wind, solar, geothermal, natural gas, nuclear, biomass, biofuels and coal technologies?
How do the costs of using hydrogencompare to using direct electric and battery electric technologies?
Hydrogen Combustion Technology
What are the various emissions to make hydrogen, to transport hydrogen, to store hydrogen and to use hydrogen? How do these emissions compare to using diesel, direct electric and battery electric?
How do the costs of using hydrogen compare to using diesel, direct electric and battery electric technologies?
Mines
Powertrains
Podcast Ideas
ETG Guest Presenter Ideas
"Intro to High Performance Enclosures" by Brenden David bd@475.supply of 475 https://ca.475.supply/.They have various products, some that have already been used locally in Prince George
Site visit of David Clause’s High Performance Enclosure house, on a tour of solar systems, ground geothermal,heat pumps and more
Rivers Edge Services. (Powertrains)
Markham Hislop - Energy Media https://energi.media/
Amy Jaffe of Columbia University (Amy has presented to the ETG)
Don Pettit, Executive Director/Marketing and Communications of the Peace Energy Cooperative (Don has presented to the ETG)
Brian Gitt, Energy Advisor https://briangitt.com/. If we’re concerned with protecting the environment, we need to think carefully about the ways we generate and use energy
Somebody from E3 https://www.e3lithium.ca/ to discuss the success and potential of Canada'sfirst lithium-in-brine proven mineral reserve.
Darwyn from the Regional District of Fraser Fort George on methane capture from landfills
Ari Spiegel from BC Hydro on heat pumps
|
| Email Doug Beckett (ldb@pgbeckett.ca or doug.beckett@ev.princegeorge.tech) to subscribe or unsubscribe from the Energy Transition Group (ETG) Newsletter or the Prince George Electric Vehicle Association (PG EVA) Newsletter.
You are welcome to share this newsletter with others. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
