Green Energy Futures

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...

This net-zero passive house requires 80-90% less energy to heat, has no furnace, and will provide all of its own energy on a net annual basis. This cleverly designed home can withstand the northern climate of Calgary, Alberta, Canada where temperatures can get down to almost -40 Celsius in the winter. It uses a special heat pump water heater to provide hot water for both suites and to provide supp...

Dagmar Knutson was growing weary of the rhetoric and polarization that swirls around climate change and energy transition in oil-rich Alberta. So she formed Ten Peaks Innovation Alliance and has organized a conference to bring teachers and students together to transcend polarization and begin collaborating on building the low carbon energy future we all need.

The DCBEL R16 is a revolutionary fast electric vehicle charger and solar inverter all-in-one. Oh, and it uses artificial intelligence to optimize your solar energy and save money. Learn why this is the device of the future for the solar-powered home and why this is the device the grid needs. This week on the Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio podcast we talk to Marc André Forget, CEO of DCBEL, a Mont...

We look at solar recycling - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Ok, that's pretty melodramatic because as we learned solar modules contain mostly very benign, and rather plain materials. We tear apart a solar module, find out what toxins are present, and learn how a company in Medford, Oregon is recycling 110,000 solar modules per year. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio VIdeo Podcast Learn more in our...

Solar Recycling - Fabtech, A company is Phoenix, Arizona is breathing new life into end-of-life #solar modules. They're not only solving the solar #recycling challenge, they've already brought a 2nd Life to 600,000 solar modules. These very affordable solar modules are being sold to a whole new market of do-it-yourselfers, RV owners, farmers, homeowners and fans of van dwelling.

Mark Dowson is the author of ReCognition: Oxygen Debt. By day he develops solar projects in the United Kingdom, but when the sun goes down he works on his dystopian, SciFi, thriller stories. We talk to Mark Dowson this week on Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast.

90-95% of Canada’s NEW electricity generation, between now and 2050, will come from wind and solar energy says a five-year North American Renewable Integration Study (NREL) undertaken by Canada and the US. The study says Canada can have a reliable grid, powered by up to 95% renewable energy and electricity prices actually decline over time. This will mean 10-fold increases in wind power and an 18-...

Schneider Electric was named the most sustainable company in the world by Corporate Knights a Canadian sustainability rating firm. The France-based global company already used 80 per cent renewable energy for its operations and wants to be carbon neutral by 2025. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast Learn more: www.greenenergyfutures.ca

Edmonton has a bold plan to create 15-minute districts all in a bid to build a modern, climate-resilient, net-zero city of the future. This week in Part II of our 15-Minute Cities series we talk to engineer Howaida Hassan about building a sustainable city of the future on Green Energy Futures CKUA Podcast. Learn more in our blog: https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/15-minute-cities---edmonto...

Architect Shafraaz Kaba says the concept of the 15-minute city can help tackle urban sprawl and help us build zero-emissions cities that are people-friendly, location efficient, and climate-resilient. Kaba is co-chair of Edmonton's Energy Transition and Climate Resilience Committee and an award-winning architect of super-efficient, net-zero buildings. This is part one in our Green Energy Futures C...

Hydrogen is no magical solution, but it just might be the lynchpin to integrating and optimizing renewable energy and creating a pathway to a zero-emissions future. We talk to Dr. Walter Merida at UBC's Renewable Energy Hub where they are integrating the use of hydrogen, solar, batteries and electric vehicles to find a pathway to a zero-emissions future. Green Energy Futures CKUA Podcast.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) are building a $23 million Renewable Energy Hub to learn how to integrate solar, batteries, electric vehicles (EVs), and hydrogen production. They believe integration will maximize our use of renewable energy while converting some solar energy into hydrogen for mobility use in trucks and planes and space heating in buildings. This week on Gre...

Plastic Bank tackles poverty and pollution at the same time by paying thousands of the world's poorest people to collect plastic pollution in more than half a dozen countries around the world. This week on Green Energy Future's CKUA Radio Podcast we talk to David Katz, founder of the Plastic Bank social enterprise. See blog and video: https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/plastic-bank-deposit-...

When COVID shut down the events industry worldwide, David Betke created GreenShows a carbon-neutral online event hosting service that radically reduces travel, increases participation, and plants trees instead of handing our swag. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast. See blog and more: https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/greenshows-carbon-neutral-virtual-events-made-for-the-times