Green Energy Futures

On this 53rd anniversary, we talk to Denis Hayes the coordinator of the first Earth Day in 1970. Those early days helped define environmentalism as Earth Day served as a big tent for pollution, endangered species and a myriad of other issues. Sadly being green in 2023 is as hard as ever as we learn from Hayes who bemoans political populism and the incredibly challenging mother of all environmental...

In part 1 of our new Net-Zero 101 series we meet up with Kevin and Heather Brosinsky who built their dream net-zero retirement home after Kevin became quite enamoured with the idea of the passive house. We talk to them one-year-in to their new home which is solar powered, heated by a heat pump and is super energy efficient. In our next episode we will dig into the bones of this net-zero home to re...

E-Bikes are growing in popularity and Mehanaz Yakub has just prepared a guide to e-bikes for Electric Autonomy Canada. This week on GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA podcast we learn about how cool e-bikes are, why they are so popular and even some of rebate programs available. GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA Podcast

Lightspark just might be the missing link for homeowners wanting to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes. On its pilot website Lightspark has produced digital energy audits of nearly every home in two cities – and that's just the beginning. You refine the assumptions and then it recommends bundles of home energy efficiency upgrades, and estimates the costs and benefits. GreenEnergyFu...

FULL INTERVIEW with Stephen Thomas about how a proposed clean energy standard could help get Canada's electricity grid to zero emissions by 2025 using renewable energy. Thomas co-authored a report entitled Shifting Power that plots a way forward using solar, wind power, energy storage and new interprovincial transmission lines that would allow provinces with big hydro to share renewable energy wit...

Stephen Thomas of the David Suzuki Foundation likes the idea of Canada creating a Clean Energy Regulation. He hopes it will inspire the addition of 18x more renewable energy, sharing electricity between provinces and Canada achieving its goal of net-zero electricity by 2035. GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Podcast

Hazel Thayer became convinced the "grownups" weren't dealing with climate change so she started posting video stories to TikTok and Instagram and is now reaching 120 subscribers on some unlikely platforms. Her posts are fast paced Rick Mercer like "rants" laced with humour and facts that seem to be moving the needle. This week on GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com podcast we talk to Hazel Thayer.

First the three nations of Fort Chipewyan built a 2.3 megawatt solar project to offset diesel generation. Now they want to bring the first electric vehicle to their fly-in community.

Oslo adopted the world's first city climate budget in 2016 - We set out to find out what the city is doing to slash emissions. Hint - they're killing it with home heating, electric vehicles, waste and even in construction. Part II in our series on Oslo's climate action. GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Podcast

FULL INTERVIEW - Oslo has one of the most ambitious climate strategies in the world and at the heart of it is a carbon budget that works alongside the fiscal budget. We talk to Heidi Sorensen, head of the Oslo Climate Agency about how carbon budgeting is helping this northern City reduce 95% of its emissions. GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com – FULL INTERVIEW

So many ambitious climate plans, so little progress. Oslo was the first city in the world to create a carbon budget and they're bucking the trend by knocking climate action out of the park. We talk to Heidi Sorensen, head of the Oslo Climate Agency to find out how it all works and why they are successful. GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Podcast

Is a "Just Transition" about helping workers find new jobs through the energy transition, or a plot to "kill jobs." We look into what a just transition should look like with Ian Hussey, author of "No Worker Left Behind" a new report by the Parkland Institute in Alberta. Green Energy Futures CKUA.com Podcast

In part 1 we unravelled the mystery of how a heat pump works. In part 2 Jean-Marie Robert is back to help us understand what heat pumps can do for us in our homes and buildings. Spoiler alert - they can do everything! Green Energy Futures CKUA Podcast www.greenenergyfutures.ca

You hear about heat pumps everywhere these days, but how do they work and what can they do in my home? In part 1 of our series about Heat Pumps Jean-Marie Robert a heat pump expert with NAIT's Alternative Energy Program presents us with a simple guide to how heat pumps work and what they can do for us in our homes. Green Energy Futures CKUA Podcast - Episode 232A www.greenenergyfutures.ca

Geothermal heating systems are not new, but this niche heating system is poised to be the heating system of the future. Efficiency, no emissions, and 700% efficient air conditioning are a few reasons. This week to find out why and how geothermal heating and cooling systems are scaling up. Green Energy Futures CKUA Podcast greenenergyfutures.ca

Geothermal heating isn't new, but we predict the 400% efficient heating and 700% efficient cooling system is the ultimate system of the future for our homes, buildings and entire neighbourhoods. Here's why. Green Energy Futures CKUA Podcast https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/231-geothermal-101-how-to-heat-your-home-with-400-efficiency

Nova Scotia just might be on the verge of realizing its long sought-after dream of harvesting tidal energy. We were there in 2012. This week we follow Ian Austen of the New York Times as he retraces those steps to look at the latest technology for harvesting the tides at the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. Green Energy Futures CKUA Podcast Learn more: www.greenenergyfutures.ca

"It's go time for wind energy, energy storage, and solar energy" says Vittoria Bellissimo the new President and CEO of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association. "What we need is rapid decarbonization and a great expansion of electricity production to achieve an at zero economy," says Bellissimo. She replaces the long serving and much lauded Robert Hornung at CanREA. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radi...

The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) just launched three large solar farms in Vulcan, Monarch and Coaldale in southern Alberta. The ACFN has a 50% ownership stake with Concord Green Energy in these solar projects which total 68-megawatts, making it one of the largest First Nation ownership stakes in a renewable energy project in Canada. The solar projects will produce enough energy to power...

SolShare, a company out of Australia has created a solar sharing device that enables apartment dwellers to share a single solar system. The innovation has helped more than 1,000 apartments go solar down under. Now SolShare is moving into the U.S. and UK markets and may be interested in undertaking pilots in Canada. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast www.greenenergyfutures.ca

Indigo Canada is adding 500 EV Chargers at its parking facilities in Canada. This is in addition to the 800 they have already installed. This week on CKUA Radio's Green Energy Futures we talk to Indigo CEO John Laires about how electric vehicles are transforming the parking industry.

Community Leagues are taking climate action to neighbourhoods all over Edmonton, Alberta. About 50 of these local volunteer groups are taking action on climate change. This week on Green Energy Futures we talk to Laura Cunningham-Shelpeley of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues about so-called Green Leagues. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Video Podcast www.greenenergyfutures.ca

For many years it was mostly keeners going solar. But solar is now 10 times cheaper than 20 years ago and the cheapest way to generate electricity, but what will it cost for you to go solar? We look at the cost of going solar in Alberta and discovered a few surprises. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Video Podcast https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/time-to-go-solar

Solar already produces emissions free electricity, but Skyfire Energy wants to also eliminate all of the embodied emissions associated with the manufacturing, and construction of their solar projects. We talk to David Vonesch, president of Skyfire Energy. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast See story: https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/skyfire-energy-zero-embodied-carbon-solar

Cameron Doepker started Gradient Thermal, a small furnace company in Calgary, Alberta to design a more efficient combined furnace and hot water heater. Now he's adapting the unit to run on 100% hydrogen. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast www.greenenergyfutures.ca