ARC ENERGY IDEAS

Peter and Jackie start the year off by introducing nine topics that are likely to dominate energy and climate discussions in 2023.  China – Zero-COVID policy relaxation consequences  Ukraine war outlook  Inflation outlook  Commodity price outlook – Which way? Up, down or both?  Year of the EV pickup truck  Canada’s response to the US IRA and other climate policy  Green-on-green competition begins ...

On this week’s podcast we look back on the key themes that shaped the past year.  First, we review our predictions from early January. How well did we predict the issues that would dominate the discussion in 2022?  We also review some of the big stories of the year that we did not foresee twelve months ago.   Content referenced in this podcast:   Jackie’s commentary: Learnings from building Canada...

This week Alexis von Hoensbroech, Chief Executive Officer at WestJet joins as our guest.  The last few years have been very difficult for airlines. COVID restrictions caused the industry to shrink overnight, then in the summer of 2022 people started traveling again but the airports and airlines were collectively challenged by the surge in demand.  On top of all that pressure and change, airlines a...

This week Daniel Breton, President and CEO of Electric Mobility Canada (EMC) joins as our guest.  Prior to joining EMC, Daniel was an environmental activist and politician in Quebec.  Here are some of the questions that Peter and Jackie asked Daniel: What percent of new cars in Canada are EVs now? Are you concerned about cost inflation and the lack of cars?  Which Canadian provinces are EV leaders...

This week our podcast was recorded at the Bennet Jones Lake Louise World Cup Business Forum . Our podcast guest  is the Honourable A. Anne McLellan , who was a speaker at the event and is currently Senior Advisor, Public Policy Group at Bennet Jones .  Ms. McLellan joined Bennet Jones after a distinguished career in federal politics.  Ms. McLellan served four terms as the Liberal Member of Parliam...

This week on the podcast our guest is Dr. Bassam Fattouh, Director of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES).  OIES is a world leading independent energy research institute specializing in advanced research into the economics and geopolitics of energy.  Dr. Bassam Fattouh is an expert on oil markets, including OPEC, the energy transition, and the economic environment of the Middle East.  ...

On this week’s podcast our guest is Mike Law, President and Chief Executive Officer at the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO).  Here are some of the questions that Jackie and Peter asked Mike: Are consumers exposed to the volatile power price in Alberta’s deregulated electric market?  Why are electricity prices in Alberta higher now? Are the costs for transmission too high? Is net-zero electr...

This week on the podcast, Peter and Jackie talk about the news from the Federal Government’s Fall Economic Statement 2022 .  The Government announced new incentives that will come into force in 2023, including credits for green electricity, clean hydrogen, energy storage and heat pumps, and a new fund to support private investment in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). They also introduced plans to...

Did you know that concrete is responsible for about 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, more than double those from aviation.    On this week’s podcast, Chris Stern the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at CarbiCrete introduces a made-in-Canada solution for addressing part of concrete’s greenhouse gas problem.  His company has developed a carbon-negative technology for producing precast co...

This week on the podcast Peter and Jackie catch up on Peter’s trip to Europe.  First, they talk about the political changes, both in Europe and closer to home with new Premiers in both British Columbia and Alberta.  Next, they switch to the topic of energy conservation in Europe.  Did Peter see any signs that people are saving energy?  Is energy affordability and conservation a focus of the conver...

The stock markets have witnessed steep declines this year, inflation is at 40-year highs, central banks are increasing interest rates and recession fears are growing.  To help explain what is next for the economy, Craig Alexander, President of Alexander Economic Views and Chief Economist & Executive Advisor at Deloitte Canada joins the podcast.  Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie...

This week, Peter Altmaier, Germany’s former Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy (2018-2021) visited Calgary to speak at the PETRONAS International Energy Speaker Series hosted by the Centre for Corporate Sustainability at the Haskayne School of Business with the University of Calgary.  After the Petronas Energy Speaker Series, Peter sat down with Jackie to talk about Europe’s energy crisis.  ...

Putin's war is being fought on many fronts. A real war in Ukraine, but also an economic and energy war in the rest of Europe.  This week our guests are David Sheppard, FT Energy Editor based in London and Derek Brower, US Energy Editor for the Financial Times and FT Energy Source Editor based in New York.   Here are some of the questions Jackie and Peter asked our guests: Assuming that Russia...

Currently we have a linear economy – products are created, used and then thrown away.  In a circular economy there is no waste – after they are used, products are recycled and/or reused.  This week our guest is Mike Werner, Lead for Circular Economy at Google.  Mike tells us about Google’s sustainability goals.  Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie ask Mike: Google sells hardware – Nest...

While North American natural gas prices are relatively low compared to Europe and Asia – they are still over four times greater than the typical level over the past several years. Assuming a cold winter, North American prices could spike up even higher. This week we invite Tim Egan, President and CEO, Canadian Gas Association (CGA) to join the podcast to talk about natural gas in Canada.     Here...

The backlash against the ESG movement is on the rise. ‘Anti-woke’ investment funds are launching and 19 US States wrote a letter to BlackRock, saying it is putting leftist politics above investor interests and returns.  Jackie and Peter debate if the ESG backlash could change corporate behaviour around climate and the environment.  Especially when you consider that, compared with the pro-ESG movem...

One uncertainty about how the energy transition will play out is how prevalent battery technology will be in the future.  Today’s lithium-ion batteries work well for short duration utility storage and electric cars, but they are not commercial for some other applications – such as long duration energy storage or heavy hauling.  Also, material supply constraints are increasing the cost of batteries...

This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter discuss some recent news. First, they talk about the surprise end to summer with the United States passing into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).  The IRA includes $369 billion of spending on clean energy and supports the build-out of a clean energy supply chain in the United States and the EV incentives also help  free-trade partners and North Ameri...

In this episode we showcase one of Peter’s Energyphile stories “ Long Way Around .” In the preamble to the story, Peter and Jackie talk about Canadian energy security for oil.  A Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) for Canada’s eastern provinces would have helped during the 1970s oil price shocks, but is it still relevant today? Should the Energy East oil pipeline be reconsidered as a way to increas...

This week on the podcast we discuss the Canadian Federal Government’s July 2022 discussion document “ Options to Cut Oil and Gas Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Achieve 2030 Goals and Net-Zero by 2050 .”    Joining the discussion is our guest Sander Duncanson , Partner, Regulatory, Environmental, Indigenous and Land at Osler, a Canadian business law firm. There are two policy options being prop...

The final rule for Canada’s Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) was published in the Canada Gazette on July 6, 2022.   By 2030, the rule aims to reduce the emissions for Canadian suppliers of gasoline and diesel by over 15 percent (compared with 2016). This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter talk about the new rule.  While a draft version was published in December 2020, the final rule had some unexpected...

This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter try a new format discussing and debating a number of recent news headlines, including: Citi Says Oil May Collapse to $65 by the Year-End on Recession (July 5, 2022)  Video of Stuart Kirk, HSBC head of responsible investing at the Financial Times Moral Money Event Video (May 2022) Mining Industry Warns Energy Transition Isn’t Sustainable (July 3, 2022) EV...

Earlier this year Cheniere Energy and ARC Resources announced a new supply agreement to export Canadian gas from an LNG facility located on the US Gulf Coast.  This week on the podcast, Anatol Feygin, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Cheniere and Ryan Berrett, Senior Vice President, Marketing at ARC Resources tell us more about their agreement.  Here are some of the questio...

This week on the podcast we talk about Jackie’s recent op-ed “Blackouts Could Drive a Return to Home Solar” with our guests Gursh Bal and Kai Fahrion, who are the Co-CEO’s of Zeno, a residential home solar solutions provider.  Jackie’s op-ed argues that, while reducing power bills has been the historical reason for installing rooftop solar, the biggest push in the future will come from the increas...

Kiewit is one of North America’s largest construction and engineering organizations.  As such, the company has a unique perspective on the pipeline of new infrastructure projects in the United States and Canada. To get a window into what is on the horizon for large energy infrastructure projects, Kiewit’s Matthew Thomas, Vice President, Carbon Capture and Travis Shearer, Vice President, Markets &a...