Green Energy Futures

Geoships just might be a creative answer to the climate and housing crises. Made out of ceramic, infused with locally available materials (such as hemp) the affordable designs are modular, resilient to climate disasters, and affordable. We talk to Jean-Marc La Flamme from Geoship about this rethinking of the fabled geodesic dome.

Kanaka Bar Chief Patrick Michell's home burned along with nearly the entire town of Lytton B.C. Canada in a climate-change-induced wildfire in June 2021. Kanaka Bar is now working with SAIT polytechnic from Calgary to find climate-resilient solutions to build back right. They're determined to build homes that are net-zero, climate-resilient, and affordable. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast...

In June 2021 Lytton, British Columbia burned to the ground in the middle of a Canadian record-setting heat dome event. As the world looked on in horror, Melanie Ross and her team at SAIT Green Building Technology program decided to offer to help. Now they are working with the Kanaka Bar Indian Band to find the lowest emissions, most fire and climate impacts resistant model for rebuilding homes in...

Five years ago the Sundance Housing Coop in Edmonton, Alberta made the audacious decision to deep energy retrofit all 59 homes in the complex to net-zero. We talk to Sandy Susut about why and how they pulled off this amazing project. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast Learn more: https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/energiesprong-retrofitting-59-homes-to-net-zero-in-canadas-north

Buildings are responsible for 30-40% of greenhouse gas emissions. Edmonton builder Peter Amerongen is tackling this head-on by piloting the Dutch idea called EnergieSprong. New walls and roofs are built in a factory and craned onto old energy inefficient homes transforming them all the way to net-zero. It's the largest project of its kind in North America as 59 homes are being transformed to net-z...

Electric Autonomy Canada set out to design the ultimate Electric Fuelling Station of the Future in an international design competition. The winning designs will knock your socks off. James Silvester of Edinburgh, Scotland wins Electric Autonomy Canada's award for the top Electric Fuelling Station of the Future in a Canadian design competition. #EV #ElectricVehicle That's this week on the Green Ene...

What are the most important barriers to electric vehicle adoption? What do EV drivers really need at an EV charging station? In search of the ultimate EV charging station, ElectricAutonomy Canada surveyed EV drivers - We talk to Ilana Weitzman this week on Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast. Learn more at www.greenenergyfutures.ca

Coal-fired electricity is going, going, gone as of 2023. University of Calgary economist Blake Shaffer calls this the biggest greenhouse gas reduction in Alberta history. Now the challenge is to take the Alberta electricity grid to net-zero. Shaffer tells us it's hard, but there are several ways it can be done. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast Learn more in our Green Energy Futures Blog: ht...

Nations, companies, and home builders - everybody was talking about getting to net-zero emissions in 2021. We share three of our favourite stories from 2021 from the long and winding journey to net-zero emissions. We look at a very inspiring net-zero passive house, the world's most efficient windows, and a very innovative EV charger that is also a solar inverter and AI-powered energy management de...

2021 will go down as the year solar boomed in Alberta. Just as the largest solar project in Canada came online in April in Claresholm, Alberta a project 3.5 times larger was already under construction. There are dozens of projects underway and even Alberta's oil industry is building solar farms in the energy-rich province. See our blog: www.greenenergyfutures.ca

ENEON was born in a partnership between an oil and gas supply firm and a battery company. In a few short years, they have grown significantly and are building Battery Energy Storage Systems for grid and microgrid markets in Canada and the U.S. See our blog and part I in this series: https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/rigs-to-renewables-oil-and-gas-guy-energy-storage

Jason Beacock went straight out of school to work on the rigs, drawn by the allure of high salaries. He loved the work but he always had a passion for renewable energy. Then the company he worked for pivoted to battery energy storage. Today ENEON, an Alberta-based company is installing battery systems all over Canada and the U.S. to help grids of all sizes optimize their use of renewable energy. G...

Sure solar energy and wind power are already cheap and booming in Canada today, but for Canada to reach its net-zero goal we need to scale up our efforts 10-fold says Robert Hornung of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association of Canada. And to do that our grids and the policies that govern them need to get a whole lot smarter. This is part 2 in our series on Powering Canada's Journey to Net-Zero...

FULL INTERVIEW - Net-Zero Grid Part I – Solar and wind my be booming already, but the pace needs to ramp up ten-fold if Canada wants to transform its electricity grid to net-zero. We talk to Robert Hornung of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association about "Powering Canada's Journey to Net-Zero" a new report. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast

The first big subsidy-free solar project in Alberta, the first utility-scale solar project in B.C., the opening of the market to home solar - All tipping points in the evolution of solar in Alberta that led up to the solar boom that is going on today. We trace these tipping points with solar pioneer David Kelly of SkyFire energy who was there and led the ascent of solar in Alberta. CKUA Radio Gree...

In 20 years David Kelly went from being inspired by the potential of solar and eeking out a modest living selling small solar systems to becoming CEO of SkyFIre Energy a very successful solar company that has installed thousands of solar systems and is now at the center of a solar boom in Alberta. David Kelly is a solar pioneer in Canada - This is his story. Lean more greenenergyfutures.ca

With all the changes in the energy industry, automotive industry and even in the buildings industry required to meet climate targets labour groups say concrete actions are required to ensure there is a just transition for workers and communities. To find out how this can and should be done Mitchell Beer of The Energy Mix talks to just transition specialist Patrick Rondeau of the Quebec Federation...

The federal government has big plans and cities and municipalities are where the climate action is - you'd think they need to work pretty closely together. But “It’s fairly limited,” Allison Ashcroft a veteran practitioner says. “Procedurally, there’s little to no direct engagement between ministers and elected officials,” nor between policy staff at key federal governments and practitioners in lo...

Faith groups want accelerated action on climate change, but they also want a just transition. Mitchell Beer talks to Karri Munn-Venn of Citizens for Public Justice from Canada. They discuss social justice and the role of faith groups in fighting for climate action at COP26. The #COP26TinyExplainers series is a co-production of TheEnergyMix.com and GreenEnergyFutures.ca

#COP26TinyExplainers – Millions of youth around the world have been inspired and empowered by Greta Thunberg, the Swedish activist who started a world-wide #fridaysforfuture movement by protesting alone on the steps of the Swedish Parliament. Mitchell Beer talks to Sophia Mathur of Sudbury, Ontario. She was the first Canadian youth to participate in a climate strike, was a winner of the Amnesty In...

#COP26TinyExplainer – Coal Phase-Out & Clean Electricity Coal is the number one source of greenhouse gas emissions so coal phase-out and replacing it with clean electricity generation is one of the big actions in reducing global emissions. Mitchell Beer talks to Binnu Jeyakumar of the Pembina Institute about coal phase-out in Canada and abroad and the importance of replacing it with clean energy....

#COP26TinyExplainer – Net-Zero targets have been all the rage for government and industry. Join us as we attempt to sort the spin from substance. Mitchell Beer talks to Catherine Abreu of the new created Canadian non-profit Destination Zero to sort the many zeros of net-zero. This #COP26TinyExplainers series is a co-production of TheEnergyMix.com and GreenEnergyFutures.ca

SPECIAL #COP26TinyExplainer - We talk to Anya Knechtel of Oxfam Canada about the $100 billion promised, but not yet delivered from the Global North to the Global South to help develop countries reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This part 1 in a series specially co-produced by TheEnergyMix.com and GreenEnergyFutures.ca.

GREEN ENERGY FUTURES CKUA PODCAST PART 1 - We take a tour of the LiteZone plant where they are producing the most energy-efficient windows in the world. These glass units have two panes of glass and anywhere from one to eight films producing unheard-of insulation levels ranging from R 6.8 to R 22. Green Energy Futures CKUA Podcast.

We hear it all the time at Green Energy Futures. What happens to all of that farmland beneath those giant solar farms? So we headed off to the 136-megawatt Claresholm Solar Project on the Canadian Prairies to find out. We met up with Gregory Lamming a quality assurance guy on a hot summer day and standing at the edge of a solar farm with 477,000 solar modules he shared the story of how solar and s...