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| we c.a.r.e. Carries the Olympic Torch |
| 2010-02-12 (canadian association for renewable energies) Bill Eggertson served as a torchbearer for the cross-country relay of the 2010 Olympic Games. Bill was selected by Olympic organizers for his long-standing promotion of renewable energies, and for the new energy standard that he is setting with his older home in Ottawa. Energy demand has been minimized to achieve an EGH rating of 85 (top 2% of all homes) and he has installed a range of renewable energy technologies which push the building past the concept of net-zero and into a 'carbon sink' status. The techniques and applications are designed for replication by owners of older homes across the country; Bill will provide details on my-green-home.ca once he finishes installing 10 kW of PV panels on the roof of his house. |  |
| | Canada's Wind Capacity Increased 40% in 2009 |
| 2010-02-03 (canadian association for renewable energies) Canada installed 950 MW of wind turbines last year, boosting the country’s installed wind capacity by 40% to 3,319 MW. Canada was in the top-ten countries with new capacity, according to the Global Wind Energy Council, accounting for 2.5% of the world's new wind capacity in 2009. Global wind capacity increased 31% last year, adding 37.5 GW of wind turbines with an investment of US$63 billion, and the world’s total installed capacity of wind now stands at 157.9 GW. One-third of last year’s additional wind was installed in China, which reported 100% growth for the fifth year in a row. The US installed 10 GW of wind last year, increasing its installed capacity by 39% and boosting the total of grid-connected wind capacity to 35 GW. The 158 GW of global wind capacity will generate 340 TWh of green power a year and displace the emission of 204 Mt of CO2. |
| | Another Solar Company to Build PV Plant in Ontario |
| 2010-02-03 (canadian association for renewable energies) The Siliken Group of renewable energy companies will open a manufacturing plant for solar PV modules in Ontario, with initial production capacity of 50 MW. The facility could start operations later this year and generate green power for 19,000 homes. Siliken is completing its choice of location and the necessary legal paperwork, and says 150 direct jobs will be created in the province. The plant will “absorb the demand for PV equipment which started to grow since bonuses for power production have been introduced for photovoltaic installations in Ontario,” it notes. The Ontario facility will complement the company’s presence in Spain, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Greece, Belgium, Netherlands and the US. Siliken has a silicon and trichlorosilane purification plant and produces PV modules, power inverters, installation structures, electrical security panels and string monitors, and also operates in the wind energy sector. |
| | Emera Purchases Windfarm in Nova Scotia |
| 2010-02-03 (canadian association for renewable energies) Energy company Emera of Nova Scotia has concluded its purchase of the proposed 30 MW Digby windfarm in Digby County. The agreement involves 100% of the project, including development rights and 20 General Electric wind turbines. The facility was being developed jointly by Interwind (formerly SkyPower) and Scotian WindFields, but Interwind is under creditor protection and began the process to sell its portion of the Digby project in August 2009. The windfarm includes a 20-year power purchase agreement with Nova Scotia Power, and the turbines are expected to generate green power by December to serve 10,000 homes and reduce GHG emissions by 60,000 tonnes a year. Emera owns regulated utility Nova Scotia Power and Bangor Hydro Electric, among other assets. |
| | Federal Agency Gives $5 Million to Solar PV Research Network |
| 2010-02-02 (canadian association for renewable energies) McMaster University will host a new research network to advance Canada’s standing in the development of solar photovoltaics, with $5 million in funding from the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The Photovoltaic Innovation Network is comprised of 29 scientists and engineers working in the field of advanced solar cell research at 13 universities, plus eleven private sector companies. The Network is mandated to raise the status of solar PV as a renewable energy option in Canada, by accelerating research and development and commercializing the outcomes. It expects to train 88 research personnel over five years. “The network will develop new intellectual property in PV for adoption by Canadian industry to supply strong domestic demand currently met by foreign companies,” says scientific director Rafael Kleiman of McMaster. “It will help Canada compete globally in this rapidly growing sector.” The PV Network is one of eleven research networks that will receive $56 million in NSERC grants over five years. The collaborative and multi-disciplinary research program will increase the conversion efficiency or reduce cost to make large scale PV deployment more competitive against electricity generation from fossil fuels. Four central research themes have been identified with new approaches: organic devices with inherently low costs of materials and manufacturing; inorganic devices which to date are the mostly widely deployed (the most common of which are silicon-based); hybrid organic/inorganic devices that have the potential to combine the lower costs of organic devices with the higher efficiencies of inorganic devices; and new PV devices and architectures which take advantage of the unique properties of nano-structured materials. The recipient universities were selected through a peer-reviewed competition. The Université de Montréal will establish HydroNet, a national research network to promote hydropower. |
| | Canadian Biomass Generator Receives Subsidies in US |
| 2010-02-02 (canadian association for renewable energies) Boralex says its wood-residue thermal power stations in the US now qualify for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), a federal program set up under Obama’s green policies to offer subsidies to wood-residue suppliers for converting biomass into electrical energy. Boralex says this will reduce its wood-residue supply costs by US$12 million per year, for a period of two years. “The supply agreements cover 80% of all of Boralex's supply needs, or 1.4 million tonnes of wood residue,” says Patrick Lemaire. Boralex owns and operates 29 power stations with a total installed capacity of 417 MW in Canada, the northeastern US and France, split among wind, hydroelectric and thermal sources. |
| | Solar Manufacturer Signs Contract for 60 MW of PV Exports |
| 2010-02-01 (canadian association for renewable energies) Canadian Solar Inc will sell 60 MW of its solar PV panels to Fire Energy Group this year, for installtion in Spain, Germany, Italy, the US, Czech Republic, Morocco and China. “This agreement secures high-quality solar modules from Canadian Solar, one of the world's most respected and proven producers; we view this as a win-win cooperation where we can grow together with our new partner,” says John Liu of Fire Energy Group, a system integrator that provides project management and distribution services. “Canadian Solar's global leadership, scale, cost leverage and proven quality record put us in the enviable position of being able to work with the best partners in each local market,” adds Shawn Qu of Canadian Solar. |
| | New Brunswick Seeks Solar Systems |
| 2010-02-01 (canadian association for renewable energies) The province of NB is seeking solar electric and solar heating systems, and has issued a tender notice for an air-to-water solar heating system with two glazed panels, a liquid-to-liquid solar heating system with two glazed collectors, an evacuated tube solar collector for heating water, a 14-panel solar PV integrated panel kit with monocrystalline technology and micro-inverter, two 2.45 kW PV systems with Sharp panels and inverter, a portable wind station and tower with wind measurement system, and a micro-hydro generator of 1 kW capacity. Deadline for responding to the invitation to tender is February 15. |
| | Nova Scotia Files Reports on Renewable Energies |
| 2010-01-28 (canadian association for renewable energies) Two reports detail how NS can meet its targets for renewable energy, with 25 recommendations and a study the implications for meeting the 2015 target. Nova Scotia Power now generates 12% of its electricity from renewables and the province wants 15% from green power by 2015 and 40% by 2020, through a combination of wind, biomass and tidal power as well as importing renewable energy. Last year, former Dalhousie dean David Wheeler was asked to review options and to make recommendations that will help develop government's Renewable Energy Strategy, to be released this spring. “We have the resources right here in our own backyard to create jobs, stabilize prices, protect the environment and make Nova Scotia more competitive over the long term," says energy minister Bill Estabrooks. “Wheeler's report reflects the opinions of hundreds of individuals and groups who took the time to share their opinions about how best we can do that.” The report envisages significant benefits through the active involvement of communities and renewable energy developers. The second study outlines possible future options to upgrade its transmission system and facilitate the transmission of green power. “Nova Scotians want more clean energy, and a stronger power grid can help deliver it,” says Estabrooks. |
| | Ontario to Study Low Frequency Noise from Wind Turbines |
| 2010-01-27 (canadian association for renewable energies) The province of Ontario has issued a RFP for expert advice on low frequency noise from wind turbines, to address concerns from stakeholders during consultation on the Green Energy Act about health effects related to noise from wind turbines. The ministry wants expert advice on modern upwind wind turbines and the effects of noise emissions on human health, and is interested in regulatory approaches to low frequency noise in other jurisdictions that will help the ministry to determine how or whether to regulate wind turbines. The ministry wants advice regarding methods of measuring low frequency noise. The RFP has no stated value and a deadline of 09 February. |
| | Study to Assess Renewable Energy Opportunities and Competitiveness |
| 2010-01-27 (canadian association for renewable energies) The government of Nova Scotia wants a study to examine the support of current and prospective supply of renewable energy opportunities locally and worldwide. The work will “provide insight into the capabilities and capacity of Nova Scotia to meet new opportunities for renewable energy supplies from wind, bioenergy, solar and tidal sources in particular, and enable the department to assist Nova Scotia companies to assess their competitive position versus others in Canada and elsewhere.” The tender closes on 03 February. |
| | Environment Canada to Assess Ecological Footprint of Biofuel Facilitie |
| 2010-01-26 (canadian association for renewable energies) Environment Canada will pay $65,000 for environmental studies on the ecological footprint of biofuel production facilities in Canada. It wants baseline environmental data on the impacts of biofuel production using its own guidance ‘Assessing Environmental Performance Guide for Ethanol Plants’ and ‘Assessing Environmental Performance Guide for Biodiesel Plants.’ Global use of liquid biofuels has grown rapidly during the past five years, and has accelerated remarkably since 2007 with production expected to double from 2009 levels by 2015, with an anticipated 76% growth before the end of 2011, says the RFP. The federal government’s GHGenius points to the potential for significant environmental benefits associated with GHG reductions from renewable fuels over their life cycle, but recent US studies suggest that biofuels may not be an overall environmentally beneficial alternative to traditional hydrocarbon-based liquid fuels, it notes. There is need for the development and provision of information from a Canadian context to enable Environment Canada scientists to better understand the environmental performance from liquid biofuels production, as performance is expected to vary considerably based on type of feedstock, conversion processes utilized, fate of co-products, scale of operations, and location of facilities. The company must produce a list of all current biofuel facilities in Canada and summarize data for trends and possible benchmark targets for facilities. A final report is due by 31 March; deadline for bids is 02 February. |
| | NB to Install Solar and Wind System |
| 2010-01-26 (canadian association for renewable energies) The government of New Brunswick has issued a RFP to install a solar & wind power system for its department of education by the end of March. The project has no stated value, but involves a 400 watt wind turbine with load controller, sealed batteries, two 85 watt Kyocera PV modules with MPPT and pure sine wave inverter, and all connections. Deadline for bids is 02 February. |
| | Study to Examine Biomass Combustion |
| 2010-01-25 (canadian association for renewable energies) Environment Canada will pay $175,000 for a scoping study by November on industrial, institutional and commercial biomass combustion in Canada. The study will provide an accurate description of the current use of biomass and air emissions, and evaluate performance of various combustion technologies on different types of biomass feedstock. It will also identify trends and drivers that could influence future biomass combustion practices such as replacing fossil fuels by alternate fuel and, based on the trends identified, identity the types of biomass feedstock fuel that are the most likely to prevail. “It s expected that green technologies such as biomass combustion, will grow significantly in the upcoming decades,” says the RFP, adding that “biomass can be renewable if managed sustainably.” Bioenergy is currently supported in many national and international programs, and “Canada is considering options to expand the amount of energy and heat generated from biomass.” However, biomass combustion can “potentially release air pollutants and toxic substances” which contribute to smog, acid rain and persistent bioaccumulative toxics. Biomass combustion is encouraged by the federal government under the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power and Clean Energy Fund, so “it is important for the government of Canada to have a solid understanding of the impacts and health implications related to biomass combustion.” The deadline for bids is 29 January. |
| | Toronto School Board Wants Renewable Energy Projects |
| 2010-01-25 (canadian association for renewable energies) The Toronto District School Board wants architect and engineering services to pre-qualify as ‘vendors of record’ for various renewable energy projects in its jurisdiction. Qualifications must be filed by 29 January. |
| | Canada's Wind Subsidy is Offset by Revenue from Windfarms |
| 2010-01-22 (canadian association for renewable energies) Federal funding of $1.5 billion to windfarms in Canada would more than pay for itself through tax revenues from project income, vendor profits and individual worker wages, as well as installing 5,200 MW of new turbines, says a study by a uni of General Electric. The federal incentive for wind energy has allocated all its funding, but injecting another $1.5 billion into the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program would result in $1.12 billion in net present value of ecoENERGY payments over ten years; $684 million in NPV of taxes on project income; $601 million in NPV of income tax on individuals’ wages; $82 million in NPV of income tax on vendors’ profits; and $43 million in NPV of income tax on lease payments and royalties to landowners over a 25-year period. GE Energy Financial Services says the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program is a government investment that yields a financial return as well as encourages development of windfarms that generate carbon-free electricity and create thousands of Canadian jobs in manufacturing, construction and operations. The federal government established the green power subsidy in 2007 and committed $1.48 billion in the form of 1c/kWh (before tax) for the first ten years of power production. These payments provide an important part of the developers’ return on investment while reducing the price that utilities and their customers pay, the report notes, but applications under the program have exceeded the budget, with 11,000 MW of capacity registering for funds. GE and the Canadian Wind Energy Association are calling for the federal government to provide funds in the 2010 federal budget to extend support for renewable energy deployment until March 2013. The total NPV to the federal government would be $1.41 billion, greater than the $1.12 billion NPV of the ecoENERGY payments, resulting in a net inflow to the treasury of $287 million. In addition, 5,200 MW of wind turbines would directly or indirectly create 49,000 jobs during construction and 1,800 permanent jobs. The study did not include property taxes or sales taxes, which generate additional revenues for provincial and local governments. |
| | Ontario Gets $7 Billion Investment in Wind and Solar |
| 2010-01-21 (canadian association for renewable energies) A consortium from Korea will invest $7 billion to generate 2,000 MW of wind energy and 500 MW of solar power in Ontario, and create 16,000 jobs. The projects by Samsung C&T and Korea Electric Power will treble the province’s capacity of renewable energy resources and generate green power for 580,000 homes. In addition to the Feed-In Tariff for green power, the consortium can receive $437 million in economic development aid if it creates manufacturing plants for wind towers, solar inverters, solar module assembly and wind energy blades before the end of 2015. Those four plants would create 1,440 jobs and increase power costs by $1.60 a year for residential consumers. Ontario says 1,200 MW of new wind capacity has been installed in the province since 2003, representing $2.8 billion of investment, and 40 MW of solar PV. Construction will start in 2012, with the first phase to be completed within 38 months at a 500 MW cluster (400 MW of wind and 100 MW of solar) in the Chatham-Kent and Haldimand County regions. The projects will generate 110 million MWh of green power over the 25-year lifetime of the project, and will displace 40 Mt of CO2 compared with gas-fired generation. |
| | Ontario Should Include Enviro Costs in Price of Power, says Think Tank |
| 2010-01-19 (canadian association for renewable energies) Electricity prices should fully link the price for consumers to environmental costs, peak-period generation costs, and the high cost of new generation, according to the C.D. Howe Institute. “We are building expensive renewable generation and will build much more under Ontario’s Green Energy & Green Economy Act, yet this high long-run marginal cost is averaged in with low-cost legacy hydroelectric power so it is invisible to consumers,” explains ‘The Price Isn’t Right: The Need for Reform in Consumer Electricity Pricing.’ Efficient pricing requires that customers pay the long-run marginal cost of production, whether it is aging nuclear reactors that soon will need to be refurbished or replaced, or any new generation from wind, solar or natural gas that is “much more expensive than the low-cost power from our massive hydro-electric facilities.” Most provinces have relied on flat rates and price-freezes for electricity, which may be politically expedient in the near term but has led to over-consumption, pollution, fiscal stress and excess pressures on the generation system, concludes author Donald Dewees of the University of Toronto. |
| | NRCan Constructing Geothermal Heat Pump with CO2 Test Bench |
| 2010-01-18 (canadian association for renewable energies) CanmetENERGY is constructing a ground-source heat pump test bench that uses CO2 in phase change as heat transfer fluid, as part of a project to allow installation of heat pumps with CO2 as the secondary refrigerant. The test bench will include three ground loops which use R507A refrigerant, CO2 and a water loop. NRCan says geothermal heat pumps can reduce building energy needs by 65%. |
| | 40 MW Windfarm to be Completed by June |
| 2010-01-18 (canadian association for renewable energies) The four projects at the Harrow windfarm near Essex on Lake Erie are expected to have 24 Vestas turbines working by summer. International Power Canada says construction at the $110 million project is progressing well with 120 construction jobs, and the 9.9 MW capacity per project (total of 39.6 MW) will generate green power for 12,000 homes. All access roads have been constructed and 18 of the 24 foundations have been completed, with six V82 turbines delivered to site. International Power Canada was formerly called AIM PowerGen and now is a subsidiary of International Power, an independent generating firm with 33,227 MW in operation and 3,290 MW under construction. |
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Updated Monday, February 8, 2010 |
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