How will we heat our buildings when we no longer use fossil fuels? It’s a really big and urgent question that is rarely discussed.
Last week I had to address the problem for Island Health, whose facilities managers are working hard to reduce the carbon footprint of their hospitals and other buildings on Vancouver Island, here in British Columbia.
How do you heat a hospital, if you are not using oil or natural gas?
Energy issues featured prominently in the recent provincial election, with strong accents on both audacious development and sustainability. The new government faces immediate decisions on a couple of key energy issues: liquefied natural gas exports and BC Hydro’s planning. What do these look like from a sustainability perspective?
While solar PV and wind power are grabbing headlines, another clean energy revolution is silently taking place. From New York to Nairobi, from rural communities in China to the heart of the European Union, biogas and anaerobic digestion (AD) solutions are becoming increasingly larger and more common.
Energy Connections broke new ground this year, tackling the difficult but inspiring topic of community empowerment. People from across BC, heralding from various different backgrounds and industries, united under one roof for a day of information, inspiration and engaging dialogue.
Looking back on the event as a whole, it is difficult to envision a more appropriate keynote speaker to kick off this incredible day; a day marked by passionate and like-minded individuals learning from one another and engaging in the broad vision of sustainable energy.
Renewable Natural Gas. Those unfamiliar with the concept might initially think of it as an oxymoron. “How can natural gas be renewable?” you might ask. The major difference lies in timescales. While renewable natural gas can be produced from last weekend’s leftover brunch, conventional natural gas could be derived from an ancient, decomposing pterodactyl. Confused? Read on.
The BC utilities commission ruled in late December 2016 that FortisBC can’t turf existing electricity net metering customers from the program just because they regularly sell more electricity to the utility than they buy from it.
Free Exhibition Opens January 14 at Kamloops Art Gallery
The Kamloops Chapter of the BC Sustainable Energy Association is proudly showcasing people who use sustainable energy resources and functions on a regular basis, in the Everyday Sustainable Energy Superheroes Exhibition.
In early August, the BC utilities commission approved a cut in the price of Renewable Natural Gas purchased by gas customers. BC Sustainable Energy Association and Sierra Club BC supported the move in a lengthy proceeding initiated by natural gas utility FortisBC Energy Inc.