Green Energy Futures

This week on Green Energy Futures we return to CBI Solar's pop-up solar RV workshop in the parking lot at West Edmonton mall to take a tour of Don Riep's off-grid, solar-powered Airstream trailer. Don is just one of many people adding high-end solar systems to their RVs to go off-grid on the open road. Demand for these $2,000 to $20,000 solar systems is up more than 10 fold thanks to COVID-19. Lea...

Remi Watts and CBI solar do all sorts of solar systems, but these days business is booming for off-grid solar systems for recreational vehicles. We meet with Remi at a pop-up workshop in Edmonton, Alberta at the famous West Edmonton Mall.

FULL INTERVIEW - On the same day, Edmonton's Mayor Don Iveson was awarded a national Clean 50 Award and city council passed its landmark 1.5-degree Energy Transition Plan. This week on Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio podcast we sit down with Mayor Don Iveson to talk about energy transition and the economy of the future. See blog, video and more: https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/edmontons-...

On the same day, Edmonton's Mayor Don Iveson was awarded a national Clean 50 Award and city council passed its landmark 1.5-degree Energy Transition Plan. This week on Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio podcast we sit down with Mayor Don Iveson to talk about energy transition and the economy of the future. See blog, video and more: https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/edmontons-energy-transition...

Renewable Energy Co-operatives were a big part of the strategy to develop renewable energy in Europe, but here in Canada, there is also a dedicated group of fans of co-operatives that have eeked out a niche promoting renewable energy, installing systems, and building community-owned projects. We talk to Rob Baxter of SolShare, a renewable energy co-op in Vancouver, British Columbia. See blog www.g...

The Energy Detective is back! Having reduced his energy consumption Ron Kube suddenly had excess solar electricity production from the solar system on his home. The surprising solution? He bought an electric vehicle to use the excess solar electricity and saved $2500 a year on gas! How solar + EVs are an amazing combination. That's this week on Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio podcast. Learn more i...

Emissions on the farm grew 23% between 1990 and 2018. The National Farmer's Union has a vision for near-zero emissions farming in Canada and it involves fewer fertilizers, less fuel and more better quality local foods. This week on Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio podcast we talk to Darrin Qualman author of a new report on net-zero farming.

The Canadian Institute for Climate Choices has evaluated 60 scenarios for getting Canada to net-zero emissions by 2050. We talk to co-author Jason Dion about the key solutions that can help Canada cut its emissions by 30% by 2030 and get to net-zero emissions by 2050. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast Episode 280 www.greenenergyfutures.ca

An oil guy and a solar guy got together and wondered which would drive you farther? And oil well on a 100 meter well pad, or 750 kilowatts of solar on the same footprint. This week on CKUA Radio's Green Energy Futures we crunch the numbers and look at how solar is being used to redevelop abandoned oil wells in Alberta. See blog: www.greenenergyfutures.ca

RenuWell – the idea is to breathe new life into Alberta's thousands of abandoned oil wells by reusing well pads and roads and building 750-kilowatt solar farms. It's a win-win for landowners, municipalities and energy transition.

Green Energy Futures presents the Energy vs Climate expert panel tackling climate change in the media with special guest Laura Lynch host of What on Earth on CBC. Covering climate change has never been a cakewalk, but things are changing as major networks set up climate change beats and stop giving coverage to climate deniers.

Canada's Climate Plan was just updated with a price on carbon rising to $170 per tonne by 2030, and billions in funds for energy retrofits, clean energy and green infrastructure. Can the plan meet the goals of the Paris Accord and reduce emissions by 30% by 2030 and get Canada to net-zero by 2050? We talk to the Energy vs Climate panel of experts to find out. We talk to EvC host Ed Whittingham, en...

A Canadian company has a patented process and is building plants that can recycle up to 95% of the components of lithium-ion batteries into battery-grade raw materials that will be used to make new batteries - the very definition of a circular economy. The wild success of smartphones, laptops, and electric cars is due to the impressive performance of these batteries, so much so that there are fear...

"The energy transition is the greatest commercial opportunity of our generation and...Alberta is extremely well-positioned to take advantage of that if we can embrace the change." Green Energy Futures one-on-one interview with Alberta's renewable energy czar Dan Balaban, CEO of Greengate Power. Balaban is a former oil and gas guy who has built the largest wind power project in Canada and is now bu...

There's a solar boom going on in Canada's oil province and you probably haven't even heard about it. There is a stunning 5,000 megawatts of solar projects in the development queue and the largest solar project in Canadian history is just about complete and it won't be the largest for long as construction begins this year on a 465-megwatt project that is amost four times larger! Alberta's Solar Boo...

Is nuclear power the only we can reach net-zero emissions or is it a threat to civilization and a distraction from other low carbon sources of energy such as solar and wind? Green Energy Futures teams up with the Energy vs Climate Podcast. We hear from hosts Ed Whittingham, Dr. David Keith, Dr. Sara Hastings-Simon, and special guest MP and former Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May. Green E...

PODCAST - The second energy transition tipping point that came into focus in 2020 was the electrification of transportation. We look back at 4 big Green Energy Futures stories from 2020: 1. The auto industry pledges to invest $300 b in developing 700 electric vehicles mostly by 2025 2. Norman Crowley, the Irish multi-millionaire who started the Cool Planet Group and Electrifi a retro EV company 3....

Renewable Energy passed the tipping point as both wind and solar became the cheapest new sources of energy in 2020, trillions in investment moved to renewables and solar boomed in Canada despite COVID-19 and the miserable economic climate. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast. www.greenenergyfutures.ca

Edmonton's new artsy home for its electric bus fleet has energy storage, a rainwater bus washing system and a fast-charging system for its fleet of 40 e-buses. Oh and on the roof of the rainwater sucking bus barns is an art installation that is circumglobal. CKUA Radio's Green Energy Futures. See blog, video and more: www.greenenergyfutures.ca

This week on Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcase we talk to Eddie Robar about Edmonton's e-bus revolution. The city has quietly become a national leader in electric buses. The city has purchased 40 long-range e-buses, has a high-speed charging system and is looking at the electrification of its entire fleet over time. The City is expecting 30% lower maintenance costs and up to 75% reduced fuel...

This week on Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio podcast we visit the largest solar project in Canada in Claresholm, Alberta where business is booming for the screw pile industry. In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic chaos the solar business is booming and along with it the industries that build solar farms. We meet up with Bryce Bernhard the CEO of Alberta Screw Piles who came to Alberta fr...

Solar is revolutionizing life for indigenous people at their remote cabins in Canada's north. Join us as we take a tour of Raymond Cardinal's solar-powered cabin out on the Peace-Athabasca Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest inland delta in North America. Solar replaces much of the use of gas generators that cost $30 a day to use in these wilderness settings. Travel with us into th...

Blue Eyes Simpson is just one of 20 Indigenous and Metis people of Fort Chipewyan getting a custom-designed off-grid solar system to replace gas generators at their remote cabins out on the Peace-Athabasca Delta in Canada's North. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast. See Green Energy Futures Blog, Videos, Photos and more: https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/solar-cabins-hello-solar-say-g...

Three Nations Energy, a community-owned company in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta built a 2.2-megawatt solar project to replace 25% of the diesel-generated electricity in their remote off-grid community. The company is equally owned by Athabasca Chipewyan and Mikisew Cree First Nations and the Fort Chipewyan Metis Association. See blog: www.greenenergyfutures.ca

TerraView homes is not only building net-zero ready homes, they are ONLY building net-zero ready homes. This week on Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio podcast we talk to president David Brix and company owner Andrew Lamden about the companies journey to building net-zero energy homes that are 80% more energy-efficient, affordable and above all are selling like crazy in the marketplace. See Green Ene...