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Making the Switch to Renewable EnergyIn increasing numbers, Canadians are switching from buying fossil fuels to renewable energy—or electricity generated from renewable resources—to partially or entirely heat their homes and hot water. Renewable energy is generated from the sun (solar), the earth (geothermal), wind, and the burning of waste material (biomass). Renewable energy is available in many areas. For consumers, choosing alternative energy sources means checking with your utility for renewable options, or finding businesses in your area that specialize in solar or geothermal products. Locate businesses by searching online or in a phone directory under solar energy or heat pumps (geothermal). Buying renewable energy for an entire village, as one community in Quebec did, means coming together to be less dependent on fossil fuels that cost more. PEI sells out of wind power subscriptions Maritime Electric offers residents the option of buying blocks of energy fueled by island wind farms to supply part of their home electricity needs. If you listen to Maritime Electric President and CEO Jim Lea, wind is a hot commodity. "For years we’ve talked about the trade-off of paying a premium for energy and getting it green," says Lea. "That trade-off may not be necessary anymore. We’re coming close to the crossover point that wind energy will become competitive to our other sources." Currently, when subscribers elect to buy blocks of wind-created energy, a green power premium appears as an additional line on their monthly bill from Maritime Electric. The average premium is under $10 per month. Maritime Electric also sells a portion of the 15 megawatts created by their turbines to the federal and provincial government which use the energy for their PEI properties. With the support of the utility, PEI’s government enacted legislation last year mandating that 15% of the province’s energy come from renewable sources. A brighter market for solar heatingRoof-mounted solar thermal panels that generate heat and/or hot water are fast becoming a part of the Canadian landscape. Solar panels convert the free energy from the sun into usable heat energy that can heat swimming pools, provide hot water and even keep your home warm. Jeff Knapp is a Senior Market Development Officer for the Renewable Energy Deployment Initiative (REDI Program), a Natural Resources Canada program designed to stimulate the demand for renewable energy systems. Says Knapp, "Fossil-fueled heaters cost money to buy and continue to cost money for the fuel to operate them. Solar, on the other hand, is an investment that actually pays for itself in saved fossil fuel or electricity costs over time. For a solar investment of between $3,000 and $5,000, homeowners could see a payback within five to ten years, depending on their system and usage." "If you have kids, it will pay itself back quicker with the extra hot water usage," he says. Sawdust heats homes and water in Quebec villageOujé-Bougoumou is a Cree Nation community of 650 people, located in the James Bay area of Quebec, 800 kilometres north of Montréal. To seek alternative sources of energy to heat their homes and public buildings, the community leaders turned to an abundant local energy resource – sawmill waste (sawdust) from the nearby Barrette-Chapais sawmill. Three thousand tonnes of sawdust each year go to two biomass boilers to heat the entire community. The village’s biomass boilers have a combined capacity of 2.7 megawatts. Three oil boilers meanwhile provide a combined capacity of 4.5 megawatts. Over the years, 70% of the village’s annual heating and hot water needs are met with the biomass as opposed to the diesel-fuelled boilers. The economic benefits achieved by the Oujé-Bougoumou District Heating System are dramatic. In the winter of 2000–2001, heating oil prices were 44 cents per litre and cost the community $65 per megawatt-hour. In contrast, heat from the biomass boilers cost $11 per megawatt-hour, including fuel, amortization, maintenance and all incidental costs. "Sawdust is very easy to get and the price hasn’t gone up in ten years," says Public Works and Capital Projects Senior Project Manager Clotilde Quentin. "We have the quantities we need to keep the system going." Related Links |
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