Green Business Canada

27/08/2024

SUMMER ENCORE SERIES - Part 3 - The Municipal Climate Change Centre turns 15 this year.

https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/367-energy-managers-help-small-towns-and-cities-save-energy-and-money

Last week we looked at three communities that made big changes thanks to support from the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre, the small but mighty agency that provides incentives and good advice to small towns about energy efficiency, renewable energy and climate resilience.

This week we meet Nathan Schaper, the energy manager at the City of Leduc hired thanks to an innovative program at the MCCAC.

In his first weeks of work at the City Nathan helped Leduc save $40,000 on demand charges simply by looking at, understanding and managing electricity consumption. Many small towns and cities are interested in energy efficiency, renewable energy, EV infrastructure and adapting to climate change but are hampered by a lack of capacity and confidence in the solutions.

The MCCAC has helped 26 small towns and communities in Alberta hire energy managers.
“Municipalities with energy managers accessed $53 million in energy retrofit-related grant programs, which is absolutely massive,” says Calvin Lechelt program lead for the energy managers program at the MCCAC in Alberta.

Photo is of Nathan Schaper, Leduc energy manager beneath a solar EV charging station which offers free charging to entice people to visit their city.

Check out our video story, blog and podcast.
https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/367-energy-managers-help-small-towns-and-cities-save-energy-and-money

Green Municipal Fund Change for Climate Edmonton Trina Innes Rural Municipalities of Alberta Alberta Municipalities Cathy Heron Bob Hawkesworth Michael Janz Andrew Knack Ashley Salvador Rob Miller SkyFire Energy David Vonesch Greg Sauer FCM Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues Amarjeet Sohi
Kent Rathwell Katharine Hayhoe Pembina Institute Simon Dyer

20/06/2024

Deep Geothermal is about to revolutionize the clean energy revolution.
https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/380-cracking-the-geothermal-nut-breakthrough-can-provide-heat-and-power-anywhere
Municipal Climate Change Action Centre Change for Climate Edmonton Trina Innes Kent Rathwell Pembina Institute Geothermal Energy in Canada (CanGEA) Eavor Technologies Inc.

EAVOR is an Alberta-based geothermal company that has pioneered a game-changing closed-loop geothermal technology that means you build it anywhere and produce base load heat and power.

24/04/2024

Instead of crashing the grid EVs are bringing down the price of electricity in the U.S. by making much more efficient use of existing grid infrastructure says a new study.


Kent Rathwell Electric Vehicle Assn. of Alberta (EVAA) Group Canadian Electric Vehicle (EV) Owners NRDC Jordan Brinn Municipal Climate Change Action Centre Change for Climate Edmonton UN Climate Change Green Energy Futures

Contrary to what you might think the addition of millions of EVs to the U.S. has driven down the price of electricity.

04/03/2024

How much solar can you fit on an abandoned hashtag site?
Turns out is between 500kW and 1 megawatt which is big enough to power 50 or so irrigation pivots in southern Alberta.
We travel to southern Alberta where the St. Mary River Irrigation District completed two pilot projects with a company called RenuWell to transform long-abanded well sites to hashtag .
See Green Energy Futures story and video podcasts in this two-part series.
hashtag hashtag hashtag hashtag
Municipal Climate Change Action Centre Keith Hirsche Solar Alberta
https://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/370-renuwell-an-amazing-energy-transition-solution-for-transforming-abandoned-oil-wells-into-solar-farms


Municipal Climate Change Action Centre Keith Hirsche Trina Innes Solar Alberta Kent Rathwell

26/02/2024

Irrigation needs power, solar produces power, both work best in the sunny heat of the summer.
In part 2 of our series on RenuWell, we talk to Trevor Helwig about St. Mary River Irrigation District's two pilot projects where they transformed two abandoned oil wells into small solar farms.



Municipal Climate Change Action Centre Keith Hirsche Solar Alberta Pembina Institute Trina Innes

In part 2 of our series on RenuWell, the idea of transforming abandoned oil wells into small solar farms caught the attention of St. Mary River Irrigation Di...

24/02/2024

What if you redeveloped just 10% of the 170,000 abandoned oil wells in Alberta as small solar farms?
The result would be 6,200 megawatts of solar capacity, enough to power 2 million homes.
That's exactly what Keith Hirsche is doing at RenuWell which redeveloped two abandoned wells as small solar farms last year in southern Alberta in a pilot project.
The projects are owned by St. Mary Irrigation District and as it turns out solar is a nice partner with irrigation since solar produces the most energy in the irrigation season.
This is part 1 of our series on this amazing concept. In part 1 we talk to Darryl Bennett of RenuWell about how well the idea works and what it would take to see the idea take off.
Municipal Climate Change Action Centre Trina Innes Keith Hirsche Solar Alberta Pembina Institute Gordon Howell

RenuWell takes abandoned oil wells, of which there are 170,000 in Alberta and transforms them into revenue-producing, tax-paying solar farms. It's energy tra...

30/01/2024

PART 2 in Green Energy Future's Municipalities Taking Action on Climate Change Series
Small towns and cities want to undertake energy efficiency and solar projects but often have neither the money, expertise or capacity to figure it all out.
That's why the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre started their energy managers program which has helped municipalities hire 26 energy managers who are out there making a big difference.
We take you to Leduc, Alberta where we meet up with Nathan Schaper who helped his city save $40,000 in his first few weeks work as their energy project managers.

Small towns and cities with neither the money, expertise or capacity to undertake energy efficiency or solar projects, so they are getting a little help from their friends at the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre.

23/01/2024

Uncelebrated and little known the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre is helping small towns take action on climate change and they are saving energy and money. We visit three small towns in Alberta this week on the GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Podcast
Alberta Podcast Network
https://soundcloud.com/daviddodgeyeg/366b-municipalities-take-climate-action-with-a-little-help-from-their-friends?si=be801df8eb1f4b2097d4faf0cfc78960&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

This week we head off to three small towns: Pincher Creek, Raymond and Leduc Alberta to learn about what they are doing to take climate action. We find them embracing energy efficiency, solar, electri