INDEPTH: ENERGY
Keeping the lights on, safeguarding the planet
CBC News Online | Updated Oct. 20, 2005
Energy gurus predict the end of cheap oil. Environmentalists warn of the dire consequences of fossil fuel addiction. And policy-makers are increasingly aware that we must change the way we create and use energy.
All this adds up to a need for a new energy plan that will not only keep the lights on, but safeguard the planet’s health. So what are some of the solutions being considered and how effective are they?
While we don’t pretend to offer a comprehensive overview of proposed energy fixes, what we can give you is a sampling of some of the more promising solutions.
Non-polluting, renewable energy sources
Wind:
Turbines spin at the Atlantic Wind Test Site in North Cape, P.E.I., on Wednesday, May 22, 2002. (CP Photo/Andrew Vaughan)
Wind is also the fastest-growing source of energy in the world, increasing at an average annual rate of 35 per cent, a trend driven largely by dramatic improvements in technology. Despite the benefits of wind power, Canada currently gets only about 570 megawatts of its energy from wind, or 0.2 per cent of its electricity needs. The potential is much greater.
Natural Resources Canada estimates that our country has almost 30,000 megawatts of developable wind resources.
So why don’t we have more wind power in Canada? Cost is the biggest hurdle, but it is also a bit of a red herring. Wind advocates argue the real issue is our long history of government subsidies for fossil fuel and nuclear energy, and an accounting system that doesn't place a value on the environment and human health.
In the case of nuclear energy, not only are there huge subsidies, but as wind advocates point out, the operators of nuclear plants have limited liability in case of disaster, and we still don’t know the full cost of decommissioning a plant.
Another argument against wind power comes from community groups worried about turbines in their neighbourhoods. They have voiced concern over noise, visual impact and the effect on birds.
Biomass:
A tractor-trailer rig dumps a load of wood chips at Woodland Biomass Power Ltd. in Woodland, Calif. The facility converts wood chips into power, which provides electricity to about 25,000 homes. (AP Photo/Bob Galbraith)
According to Greenpeace Canada, “biomass is potentially carbon neutral because the carbon dioxide that is emitted when it is burned equals the amount that was absorbed out of the atmosphere as the plant grew.”
Still, the group cautions that fossil fuel used to grow and transport the biomass, as well as fossil fuel used to manufacture and apply fertilizers and pesticides, could result in a net greenhouse gas release.
In places such as British Columbia, and Northern Ontario and Quebec, leftover wood from logging operations is the most readily available source of biomass. Often it is burned to produce steam and electricity. The steam can be used for heat in co-generation plants for the heat-intensive pulp and paper industry and for kiln-drying lumber.
In places such as Alberta, livestock manure is a plentiful source of biomass. The Kotelko farming family of Vegreville, about 100 kilometres east of Edmonton, built the first biogas plant in the world to use solid organic waste. The $8-million system starts with manure, adds water and heat, and then lets the mixture stew without oxygen. The reaction releases methane, which is run through a generator to produce power with little odour.
Solar power:
The most efficient use of solar power involves using the energy from the sun to heat water. It’s also possible to convert the sun’s energy into electricity through photovoltaic cells. But conventional solar cells are relatively expensive because they rely on silicon semi-conductors, much like the conductors used in computer microchips.
In the Alberta town of Okotoks, about 10 kilometres south of Calgary, a new and innovative 52-house subdivision is using the sun’s power to heat water. The area receives almost as much solar energy as Italy and Greece – making it ideal for solar-energy collection.
By the time the project is completed in the fall of 2005, the homes will be topped by more than 2,300 square metres of rooftop solar panels. In the summer, solar energy will be collected and stored deep in the ground under a neighbourhood park. As the heated water travels through the pipes, heat will be transferred to the surrounding earth.
The earth is expected to heat up to 80 C by the end of the summer. In the winter, heat will be extracted from the field and delivered to the homes through underground pipes as hot water.
The builder estimates the subdivision will reduce greenhouse gas emissions for each house by five tonnes, or 260 tonnes in total, per year. The project is also expected to provide up to 90 per cent of the energy required to heat the homes, and up to 60 per cent of the subdivision’s requirements for hot water.
Tidal power
Tidal power captures the energy generated by moving water due to tides. There are two types of tidal energy that can be extracted: kinetic energy – generated by currents produced by tides – and potential energy, which is generated from the difference in height between high and low tides.
In order to extract potential energy, a tidal lagoon – or a barrage – must be built. Changes in water level inside the basin relative to outside is used to drive turbines, which produces electricity.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have each committed $60,000 towards a study of the potential for tidal power in the Bay of Fundy. The Electric Power Research Institute of California is spearheading the research.
The concept has long been talked about for the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tides in the world.
Underwater turbines can be a major problem for fish. Turbines can kill up to 15 per cent of the fish that pass through them. That kind of mortality rate could be absorbed by fish that are on a spawning run – but it’s devastating for local populations that would pass through the area daily.
Conservation measures
Conservation matters more than we think, says Tom Adams, executive director of Energy Probe, a Toronto-based resource conservation research group.
“A lot of people have the impression conservation is nice, but it’s small potatoes. But look at natural gas consumption in Ontario households. It’s been dropping by one per cent a year for at least 20 years,” said Adams.
That’s largely because of our use of increasingly energy-efficient appliances, windows and furnaces.
The rise in price for natural gas has also helped motivate people to conserve. That’s why environmentalists argue for the lifting of price caps on electricity. They say that in Canada, we don’t even come close to paying for the real costs of electricity.
In Ontario, for example, homeowners pay five cents per kWh for the first 750 kWh they use per month, and 5.8 cents per kWh for anything over this threshold. While the wholesale price was hovering just above six cents per kWh in early July 2005, during the June 2005 heat wave wholesale prices jumped as high as 28 cents per kWh.
But with electricity price caps, Ontario residents have little incentive to conserve, beyond the exhortations of energy officials concerned about potential blackouts. “Rate freezes stimulate consumption,” said Adams. “It builds electricity debt. It sucks money out of the electricity system that would otherwise be there for upgrades.”
Ideally, Adams and other environmentalists would like to see price caps removed and smart meters installed in all homes and businesses. Smart meters allow us to monitor how much electricity we’re using at any given moment. This encourages us to be more motivated to put off the laundry until times of low energy demand, and low prices.
“There’s no point in moving to smart meters until we move to smart pricing,” said Adams.
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