Green Energy Futures

Edmonton launched it's Energy Transition Strategy earlier this year - we talk to Mayor Don Iveson about what energy transition might look like in a city with one of the dirtiest electricity supplies in Canada. Green communities, solar power and energy efficiency are all ideas being explored. Full story: http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/iveson-edmonton-energy-transition-strategy

A CKUA Green Energy Futures exclusive interview with Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson about oil city's strategy to transition from dirty to clean energy. For the full story and a full length feature interview see story: http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/iveson-edmonton-energy-transition-strategy

This week on CKUA's Green Energy Futures podcast we go to solar school. Randal Benson of Gridworks Energy Group has helped train more than 700 electricians and interested folks. Hear their stories! Full story: http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/solar-pv-training-job

On this week's CKUA Radio Green Energy Futures podcast: How Kimberley BC began mining the sun on the site of the once largest lead-zinc mine in Canada. Learn more: http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/sunmine-kimberley-bc-solar-pv

This week on CKUA's Green Energy Futures - Mayor Gregor Robertson was elected two terms ago on a pledge to make Vancouver the "Greenest City in the World." We talk to the mayor about their latest pledge - to use 100% renewable energy in Vancouver by 2050.

TREC Education grew out of the Toronto Renewable Energy Coop after they built the first urban wind turbine in North America in the heart of Toronto's Exhibition Place. This week on Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio feature we go to class with grade 5s at George Webster School in Toronto to learn how to capture the wind.

This week on CKUA Radio's Green Energy Futures - Since the high school Sustainable Development Committee started students at Cochrane High School in Alberta have raised more than $149,000 and carried out more than half a dozen solar, wind and energy efficiency projects. Then came the "notorious wind project." That's when they became "A" students in politics, helping their town develop a renewable...

Local leadership has proven to be the most effective at deploying effective sustainability solutions at all kinds. David heads to Toronto to learn how cities across the world going green.

Tillsonburg. If hearing that name brings to mind the Stomping Tom Connors song about working in the tobacco fields you're not alone. But Tillsonburg has undergone a modern makeover, the biggest employer in town isn't agriculture but Siemens. Over 400 people manufacture wind turbine blades at their Tillsonburg plant. We learn how they make these engineering marvels and the effect it's had on the to...

Calgary's LRT is an electrified transport success story. Not only does it boast high ridership numbers (3rd highest LRT ridership in North America) but it's also 100 per cent powered by wind energy. Learn more at http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/c-train-success-nenshi-calgary

Net-zero is a simple but powerful idea. A house that produces as much energy as it consumes over the course of a year. Now that idea is going across Canada. Five builders are going to build five net-zero houses each across Canada. Green Energy Futures checks out one of the builders in action.

When Elon Musk gave his presentation on the Powerwall he gave the energy storage business a billion dollars worth of free press. Ontario is leading the way in Canada in energy storage deployment, we head there to learn more.

We head to Bobcaygeon, Ontario to see an off-grid, solar-powered cottage made out of steel shipping containers. Learn more at http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/sea-container-cabin-cottage-country

Ontario has successfully transitioned away from coal power and is ramping up renewable energy. It's the single largest carbon emissions reduction project ever undertaken in Canada and it deserves to be recognized.

Transportation is the average family's second biggest household expense. We talk to a location efficiency scholar and a city councillor to learn more about why buying a location efficient house might just save you a whole lot of money.

Cradle to Cradle is the evolution of recycling. Instead of turning what we recycle into a lesser version of what it was before Cradle to Cradle asks manufacturers to think of their materials as nutrients in a vibrant ecosystem. Episode here http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/cradle-cradle

LEED is everywhere but what is it worth the effort? We look into the effectiveness of this ubiquitious green building raiting system.

We find that people are genuinely curious about geothermal. From our first season one of our most popular episodes is on geothermal so we decided to follow up and make some interesting discoveries about energy efficient heating and cooling technology.

A new breed of startups is taking on a $750 billion dollar opportunity in industrial and commercial energy efficiency. They're using a mix of custom metering hardware, proprietary software and common sense to go after the 30 per cent of energy that's paid for but wasted by the industrial and commercial sectors. We talk to two of these startups in this week's episode of Green Energy Futures.

Judith Sayers is the former chief of the Hupuchasath First Nation on Vancouver Island. She was key to getting one of the first run-of-river projects that was majority owned by a First Nation built in Canada. Learn about her and the China Creek project this week at Green Energy Futures http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/judith-sayers-first-nation-run-river-hydro

On this week's CKUA episode of Green Energy Futures we've got the latest science and numbers on the actual effects that wind turbines have on birds and bats. http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/wind-wildlife-impacts

Is a net-zero commercial officie building possible? You betcha. On this week's CKUA Green Energy Futures episode we feature The Mosaic Centre in Edmonton, Alberta a building where geothermal heating and cooling work with solar electricity to produce an affordable, beautiful commercial building that will produce as much energy as it consumes. http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/first-net-zero-...

Even people who research and write about energy for a living struggle with jargon and making this stuff feel real. This week we explore a couple of commonly used energy terms and try to make them understandable. And the picture? That's a kilowatt-hour's worth of coal.

Titan Clean Energy Projects is a Saskathewan based company making a very interesting product: biochar. We visit their plant and learn more about this amazing product that has a ton of different uses - including long term sequestration of carbon in the soil. Learn more at http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/biochar

Feed-in tariffs have transformed renewable energy markets around the world. Now the mountain town of Banff is the first municipality in Canada to institute this important piece of renewable energy supporting policy.