Will it make any difference?

One of my rain barrels

Saanich is offering a series of free lectures on topics related to climate change and what people could do at home.   The first one is on rainwater management and is this coming Saturday.

The cost to hold these lectures and the impact they will have are not likely going to be worth it.  The municipality would have a much bigger impact if it spent more money on building good sidewalks than holding these lectures.  They would also have more of an impact if they made some changes to streets to allow buses to move a bit faster.

The whole set of pages for Saanich on climate change are simplistic.   As an example, the carbon calculator, it has various problems.  

It assumes all vehicles in a class and how you drive them are the same, if you want to calculate the CO2 emissions you just need to know the number of litres you use in a year.   The CO2 emissions for electrical power is constantly fluctuating based on what power source we are drawing on.   If you use power in the middle of the night, you have a higher CO2 impact because that power is in part coming from coal fired plants in the US or Alberta.

Air travel is also not as simplistic as the calculator suggests.   Much depends on the number of passengers on the plane, how old the plane is and the speed it is flown at.   If you fly WestJet, your CO2 emissions will be lower because they have very new planes and have more passengers than average.  If you fly Harbour Air you have zero CO2 emissions since the airline is carbon neutral.

The calculator misses out a major source of greenhouse gases, the eating of meat.

It also misses out the impact of what I do that might reduce CO2.

The Saanich pages feel like "flavour of the month".   There is no real thought or rigorous academic backing for what is being done or what is suggested people do.   Lots of resources are going into project work that will have no impact.

The Green Energy Taskforce Report

I have to say underwhelmed is the best I can muster for the Green Energy Taskforce Report.   They had a mandate to provide recommendations on all aspects of green energy production in BC and they produced a document that is more platitudes and motherhood statements than any sort of detailed recommendations.

Here is one of the recommendations:

2. Increase Clean Electricity Demand in B.C.

Growing a low-carbon economy means attracting new investment to B.C. that can be supplied by B.C.’s clean electricity. Clean technology industries, like data centers, could be incented to locate in B.C. to take advantage of data networks.

Recommendation 4: Bring the load/business/jobs to the electrons–actively recruit and attract new low-carbon industry (such as server farms for the Interior).

Where does one start with this?   First of all the recommendation is "Increase Clean Electricity Demand in BC" and not attract greener industries.   The two parts do not connect.   The only way to increase the demand for clean electricity is to remove the BC Hydro monopoly of sales of power so that consumers can choose where they get the power from.    The short paragraph and recommendation there make no sense in the context of green energy.  They do not say who should attract these business to locate in the interior BC or the other impediments to being there.

There are very few clear concrete recommendations within the taskforce report.  A number of the ones verging on having a clear direction are things that are already going on.

 Here is a list of the somewhat more clear recommendations I could find are:

• Complete Revelstoke and Mica dam capacity for power generation
• Move forward on Site C and Site E
• Move procurement, generation operations, and export outside of BCUC regulation.
• Develop a Lowe Carbon Transition Plan (though dates for when)
• By September 30, 2010, and using existing data and information layers, develop a renewable energy zoning map for the Province that identifies where development of renewable energy and transmission is appropriate and inappropriate.
• Direct BC Hydro to amend bioenergy electricity purchase agreements (EPAs) to transfer the biomass fuel price risk through to BC Hydro so that if biomass fuel prices increase, BC Hydro will correspondingly adjust the purchase price of electricity. (I do not like this one)
• Establish a B.C.-owned Biomass Fuel Aggregator to access and aggregate woody biomass from provincial forest land, and supply fuel to bioenergy project developers.
• Increase the Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund from $25 million to $50 million with a commitment to review funding levels every two years. Restructure the ICE Fund with an expanded team of investment professionals and consider moving it outside of government as a separate, stand-alone organization.
• Implement a royalty credit and/or tax credit program to provide the necessary incentives to industry to use clean energy technologies at remote installations in B.C., such as mining, natural gas operations and communities.
• The Province should develop a regional green energy planning process
• The Province should expand the current revenue sharing model to include the sharing of revenue collected by the Province with First Nations on all types of green energy.

Even this list find is full of statements that are really not offering much.   What I was looking for was something with a lot more specifics.   I was looking for detailed background on each recommendation including deadlines and how the recommendation should be implemented.  All in all, the report is short enough on details that it could be used to justify almost any action in relation to green energy in BC.

There are other recommendations that many will say have specific actions for government, but I would argue they are too vague or they are not realistic in BC.

The submission I made to the taskforce had some very specific recommendations with details of what should be achieved and by when.  It also contained a lot more details with respect to scope and scale of power production now and in the future, prices for power here and elsewhere, specific issues with the grid, and where new green power could accessed without building any significant infrastructure.   I am only one person and working on that on the side of my desk.  They taskfroce report does not impress me.

Energy in the Throne Speech

The throne speech was read today and it highlights some energy issues.

I am encouraged by the clear support for more green power. I am also happy to see continued support for the Highway #37 powerline. The government is placing itself at the forefront of clean energy production in North America, this sets us up to gain a lot of jobs, reduce CO2 emissions and add to government revenues. All pluses.

I am looking forward to see the what comes out of the Green Energy Taskforce and what the new Clean Energy Act will look like. We are at the forefront of a paradigm shift here in BC with respect to energy.

Here is the section of the Throne Speech

Clean energy is this century's greenfield of opportunity.

British Columbia is blessed with enormous untapped energy potential.

We can harness that potential to generate new wealth and new jobs in our communities while we lower greenhouse gas emissions within and beyond our borders.

Clean energy is a cornerstone of our Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one‑third by 2020.

Building on the contributions of the Green Energy Advisory Task Force, your government will launch a comprehensive strategy to put B.C. at the forefront of clean energy development.

We have enormous potential in bioenergy, run‑of‑river, wind, geothermal, tidal, wave and solar energy. We will put it to work for our economy.

A new Clean Energy Act will encourage new investments in independent power production while also strengthening BC Hydro.

It will provide for fair, predictable, clean power calls.

It will feature simplified procurement protocols and new measures to encourage investment and the jobs that flow with it.

New investment partnerships in infrastructure that encourage and enable clean modes of transportation, such as electric vehicles, hydrogen‑powered vehicles and vehicles powered by compressed natural gas and liquid natural gas, will be pursued.

We will support new jobs and private sector investment in wood pellet plants, cellulosic ethanol production, biomass gasification technologies and fuel cell technologies.

Bioenergy creates new uses for waste wood and beetle‑killed forests and new jobs for forest workers.

A new receiving license will give bioenergy producers new certainty of fiber supply, while a new stand‑as‑a‑whole pricing system will encourage utilization of logging residues and low‑grade material that was previously burned or left on the forest floor.

Government will optimize existing generation facilities and report on the Site C review this spring.

It will develop and capture B.C.'s unique capability to firm and shape the intermittent power supply that characterizes new sources of clean energy to deliver reliable, competitively‑priced, clean power — where and when it is needed most.

New conservation measures, smart meters and in‑home displays will help maximize energy savings. New smart grid investments and net metering will provide more choices and opportunities for reduced energy costs and more productive use of electricity.

New transmission investments will open up the Highway 37 corridor to new mines and clean power.

New transmission infrastructure will link Northeastern B.C. to our integrated grid, provide clean power to the energy industry and open up new capacity for clean power exports to Alberta, Saskatchewan and south of the border.

We will seek major transmission upgrades with utilities in California and elsewhere.

If we act with clear vision and concerted effort now, in 2030, people will look back to this decade as we look to the 1960s today.

Pembina Institute Review of Platforms

The Pembina Institute has reviewed the platforms of the three major parties as it relates to climate change and energy policy. The information they pull out of each platform is good, I am just not convinced at some of their rankings.

The Greens come out the winners - no surprise there at all. The Liberals and NDP come out more or less tied. The NDP manages to benefit from being vague on a number of issues and not being held to account for how they acted when they were government.

It can not be easy for organizations that have strong personal ties to the NDP to come out and say the emperor is not wearing any clothes. The right wing equivalent is issues around the horrible mistake of deficit spending and stimulus packages - most of the commentators on the right are still having trouble pointing out that Stephen Harper has lost his way and is not governing well for the economy.

Joint Canada-US Approach on Climate Policy Needed: C.D. Howe Institute

Toronto, Feb.3, 2009 – A joint Canada-US approach to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is needed to minimize the negative impact on Canada’s competitiveness, says a study released today by the C.D. Howe Institute.

In Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Impact on Canada’s Competitiveness, authors Chris Bataille, Benjamin Dachis and Nic Rivers note there is a growing consensus that if serious action is to be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, a price must be applied to emissions through a cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax. The authors look at a number of scenarios of how Canada’s climate policy might coexist with the rest of the world, how certain sectors are likely to be affected by carbon pricing and what governments can do about it.

Overall, they find that competitiveness impacts associated with climate change policy in Canada are likely to be relatively small for most sectors of the economy, with the exception of the following sectors: oil and gas extraction and processing, pulp and paper, metal smelting, chemicals, cement and lime production.

One concern, they note, is that measures Canada might take to reduce GHG emissions may be partly offset by the relocation of Canadian industries to countries that lack tough climate change policies – an effect known as emissions “leakage.” Such leakage, they find, would be relatively small: for every 5 megatonnes of CO₂ that is reduced by Canadian industry, only 1 tonne would be leaked abroad. Any leakage would also be primarily to the United States, rather than to developing countries, meaning that a joint Canada-US approach would largely eliminate both the potential for leakage and overall competitiveness issues.

For the study go to: http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/commentary_280.pdf

For further information contact:

Benjamin Dachis,

Policy Analyst, C.D. Howe Institute,

416-865-1904;

Chris Bataille,

Director, M.K. Jaccard and Associates,

604-683-1259;

Nic Rivers,

Trudeau Scholar,

School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University,

604-683-1452.

2008-08-20 11:00:00

Natural Resources Canada: Government of Canada Invests in Renewable Energy in British Columbia

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(eMediaWorld - Aug. 20, 2008) - The Government of Canada is investing in renewable energy projects across Canada, thanks to investments in seven projects through the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program.

The Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, today announced the first project, the Kwalsa low-impact hydro project near Harrison Lake, which will benefit from an investment of up to $35 million thanks to the Government of Canada.

"Our investment in the Kwalsa low-impact hydro project is another great example of how our government is delivering on its commitment to reducing emissions, increase the supply of clean, renewable energy for Canadians, and accelerate the development of a strong and competitive renewable energy industry," said Minister Lunn. "We need energy to power our economy, and we must have more clean energy to protect our health and our environment."

When it is complete, the Kwalsa Energy Project will have a total capacity of 90 megawatts from eight turbines operating on four waterways around Harrison Lake at Douglas, Fire, Stokke and Tipella Creeks. The peak electricity demands of more than 27,000 households can be met with that amount of clean electricity. The site is located about 90 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

The project is owned by Harrison Hydro Limited Partnership, which is in turn owned by Cloudworks Energy Inc., a British Columbia-based energy firm specializing in run-of-river hydro development.

John Johnson, a principal of Cloudworks Energy Inc., was pleased that the Harrison Hydro Limited Partnership qualified for funding under the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power Initiative. "This federal program enables the Kwalsa Project to address not just the construction challenges related to building clean and renewable energy in the remote regions of this Province, but also to provide transmission grid access for the first time ever to our First Nations partners, the Douglas First Nation."

The Kwalsa Energy project has qualified for the one cent per kilowatt-hour incentive under the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program, payable for up to 10 years to ensure the electricity it generates can be delivered to consumers at competitive rates.

Businesses, municipalities, institutions and organizations are eligible to apply for funding under ecoENERGY for Renewable Power. The program provides about $1.48 billion to increase Canada's supply of clean electricity from renewable sources such as wind, biomass, low-impact hydro, geothermal, solar photovoltaic and ocean energy. It will encourage the production of up to 4,000 megawatts of new electricity from renewable energy sources-enough electricity to power about one million homes.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

The Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, has announced the Kwalsa low-impact hydro project near Harrison Lake, B.C. will receive an investment of up to $35 million thanks to the Government of Canada's ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program.

NRCan's news releases and backgrounders are available at www.nrcan.gc.ca/media.

Meet the team at Cloudworks : http://www.cloudworksenergy.com/section.php?s=13

BC Goverment to be Carbon Neutral in 2 years

The current government in BC is moving light years ahead of anywhere else in North America in relation to climate change issues.

We have a carbon tax - though there is now a backlash against the tax from the left.

We have a comprehensive climate change plan - though once again, the left seems to dislike it

The government has given $90 000 000 to the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions

And the government itself is preparing to be carbon neutral by 2010 - which means a market for 600 000 to 900 000 tonnes of CO2 offsets, a great kick start to the system of offsets sales here in BC.

What this all means is that Gordon Campbell is clearly the greenest major politician in Canadian history.