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Today I physically felt the tremors of the oil crunch issue.  A little rush of adrenalin and trepidation along with my morning coffee.  I had opened two very up to date websites with news on the issue.  They are www.energybulletin.net, and www.energytechstocks.com. 

Its not healthy to suppress one’s fear of the far-reaching disturbance this is bringing, and will continue to bring to life as we know it.  Normally wouldn’t go into it, but thats kind of the norm, socially, and we are doing ourselves a disservice by not openly acknowledging the danger, and discussing it together.  Solutions don’t come from simply wishing away the dread and imagining greener pastures.

 Happy hunting.

A comprehensive on-line directory to Canada’s clean energy training options is moving closer to reality.  This week, SparkDesignCo, in Terrace BC, is starting to gear up design and programming work on the site, which is a joint-project between the BCSEA and Renewable Recruits.  Renewable Recruits, a proprietorship run by Randyn Seibold, longtime BCSEA member, is committed to the growth of qualified human resources for Canada’s sustainable energy industries.  The wesite www.CleanEnergyClassrooms.ca is anticipated to be up and running by May 15th. 

It will be organized around a Google Maps template, and feature training/education, government clean energy initiatives related to training & careers, First Nations’ organizations, NGOs, and Industry leaders.  The objective is to provide easy reference to practical tools for training & employment in the Canadian renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors.

A multi-faceted approach to sustainable energy and cleantech is being taken by a new Vancouver company.

Mantra Venture Group is a cluster of subsidiaries that is committed to ‘profitability through sustainability’, and is supporting a number of innovative technologies on the path to market readiness.  Offering both venture capital and public education elements, Mantra is taking a different approach to retooling society and business for sustainable practices.  

Its major new development at this time is the ‘Electro-Reduction of Carbon’ technology, which was brought into being by a prominent UBC researcher, Professor Colin Oloman.  Its exciting prototype successfully reduces CO2 into its primary components, creating fuel and chemical resources while at the same time reducing greenhouse gases.  Other projects include cellulosic ethanol and signal smoothing technology from intermittent renewable energy sources.

A Carbon Calculator is available on Mantra’s website.  Rather than just another calculator, though, it is being combined with an energy auditing service (ClimateESCO), and a Marketplace service that will help clients connect with the most appropriate service providers to make energy improvements in their homes or place of business.  Visit www.MantraEnergy.com to learn more.

Provincial funding announcements have included over $7 million to the University of W. Ontario, where interdisciplinary research is leading to the development of processes to convert agricultural waste to fuel and chemicals.

The funding would support a newly created university institute - the Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources - including physical facilities and some initial operating expenditures.

Visit www.UWO.ca  to learn more about this school and the initiative.

Millions of Jobs of a Different Collar
Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
EVERYONE knows what blue-collar and white-collar jobs are, but now a job of another hue - green - has entered the lexicon.

Presidential candidates talk about the promise of “green collar” jobs - an economy with millions of workers installing solar panels, weatherizing homes, brewing biofuels, building hybrid cars and erecting giant wind turbines. Labor unions view these new jobs as replacements for positions lost to overseas manufacturing and outsourcing. Urban groups view training in green jobs as a route out of poverty. And environmentalists say they are crucial to combating climate change.

No doubt that the number of green-collar jobs is growing, as homeowners, business and industry shift toward conservation and renewable energy. And the numbers are expected to increase greatly in the next few decades, because state governments have mandated that even more energy come from alternative sources.

But some skeptics argue that the phrase “green jobs” is little more than a trendy term for politicians and others to bandy about. Some say they are not sure that these jobs will have the staying power to help solve the problems of the nation’s job market, and others note that green jobs often pay less than the old manufacturing jobs they are replacing.

Indeed, such is the novelty of the green-job concept that no one is certain how many such jobs there are, and even advocates don’t always agree on what makes a job green.
(26 March 2008)
Related from SightLine: Green-Collar Jobs: The Secret History.

Vancouver BC, March 7

There is a dynamic and diverse renewable energy industry cropping up in this northwest Canadian city, and last week I had the opportunity to get a good look at it.  Two facility tours were in my schedule, first to Day4Energy, a maker of cutting-edge photovoltaic modules, and then to VRB Power, a flow-battery developer.  In between there was a meeting with Mantra Energy, a clean tech venture capital and energy services firm setting up base in the downtown core.

Day4 has only been in business since 2002, but their innovative PV modules are gaining a good foothold in the market.  The facility currently can produce 12 megawatts worth of hardware, but rapid expansion is underway, and the company plans to be capable of producing 90 megawatts by the end of this year.  The Day4 panels achieve a reduction in resistance to electrical current by a proprietory method of interconnecting cells.  Visit their site for more information (or apply for work), at www.Day4Energy.com

VRB Power (www.VRBPower.com) has been actively developing its vanadium-based flow cell storage systems since the late 90’s.  This storage application is being targetted at remote power neeeds in the communications sector, and remote communities.  It can also be used in conjunction with intermittent clean energy sources such as solar and wind, smoothing the power output and providing juice when the source energy is absent.  A number of installations are performing in different countries.  VRB is an investor’s opportunity, as the technology has been tested and perfected, but leadership from investment firms has yet to materialize.  As a result there are substantial quantities of low-priced shares available in an very promising technology.

This information was part of my interaction with Mantra Ventures Group, one of my client firms.  This company is composed of several entities, each playing a role in bringing sustainable technologies to market and encouraging market adoption of these technologies and a wise-use ethic in general.  A couple of questions they ask when looking at different ideas are ”Does it reduce waste while creating a resource?”  “Is it a closed-loop system?”  And, importantly, “Does it help reduce costs?” 

All three of these companies have this economic ethic at the heart of their planning, as this is the essential purpose for the development of sustainable energy economies in the first place.  Not only the high cost of fossil-fuel dependency, but the overall cost on our ecosystems.  The link between Ecology and Economy is no accident, and these folks are working hard to ensure results that are both  environmentally sound and affordable.

Last week the BC Carbon Tax was issued to the carbon users of BC, with many positive and negative associated details.  For example this budget also included a $50 million boost to Oil & Gas subsidies, which already had around $200 mil slated for it this year.  Help that industry cope with the tax I suppose…

But no matter, its a start.  The way the mainstream media fawned over it as a North American (even a World!) first kind of annoyed me.  The fact that it is revenue-neutral is kind of cool only in that it will prevent backlash from the sluggishly adapting taxpayer.   Quebec had their tax last June (the 1st in NA), and European countries have much higher ones in place (try $3 plus a litre of petrol). 

My first write up at www.Celsias.com is on the subject, have a look….

It may be the first time ever that www.RenewableEnergyAccess.com is running 3 Canadian-related articles, simultaneously, in its weekly news cycle!  The major US on-line renewable energy news publisher has a comprehensive selection of news stories from the USA, and parts abroad, but content from its northern neighbor has been infrequent.  That is starting to change.

In August of 2007, I first contacted the editors in regards to becoming a ‘Canadian correspondent’.  The response was immediately favorable, and Renewable Recruits has been submitting monthly ever since.  Our seventh installment, “Sun Farmers of Canada” is currently in the mix.  Have a read! 

Also featured by other contributors is a story on future Offshore Wind in the Great Lakes, as well as an article about the first wind farm, Ravenswood, brought on-line in Ontario under the terms of the Standard Offer Program.

If you’ve never taken the opportunity to explore the National Renewable Energy Laboratories website, I recommend it.  Having known about it for several years as a hotspot for US information on clean energy, it still took until yesterday to go see.  There is much of value to be learned.

Two stories led me there.  One, that Ontario had co-operated with the NREL in the work leading up to the lifting of its moratorium on off-shore wind farms in the Great Lakes, a fine example of cross-border relations and information sharing for the cause of carbon-free energy.  The next was an article about Colarado’s enthusiastic launch into the renewable energy economy, seeking to become a US state leader in research & development, generation, and manufacturing.  Vestas has just committed to opening a wind component plant there, and the NREL calls Colorado home, since the 1970s.  It has suffered repeated funding cut-backs and neglect, but is now enjoying a 50% boost in its funding, and is renovating, retrofitting, and constructing new facilities.  And they’re hiring!

Over two weekends, five people were recently trained to become fuel-efficient driver coaches with Vancouver BC-based Sustainable Community Enterprise.   The small firm caters to business and government, and offers several services aimed at reducing waste, costs, and greenhouse gas emissions from day-to-day operations.  The new coaches will spread out around BC to help people save money and fuel, improve safety and drive in a way that enables the Province to meet its formidable climate change reduction targets.  These benefits are real and measurable.  Other big pluses include quieter city streets, less maintenance costs, and more peace of mind (ie less road rage).  Not bad during your commute!

“The Fuel-smart Driving program’s biggest advantages are that it is universal and useful.  It can be used effectively by anyone, anywhere, of any age and ability, in any type of vehicle,” says Nicholas Lamm, Greenworkplace Manager. 

Overall savings in fuel consumption of as much as 30% have been realized.  The basic goal is reducing the amount of time the engine is running at high RPM (rotations per minute over 2,000).  Three major principles are key to achieving this goal:

·  Maintain a healthy three second or more buffer zone between your vehicle and the vehicle in front,

·  Scanning ahead 500 to 1,000 meters to anticipate obstacles and hazards,

·  Reducing the number of stops and starts by using and conserving the vehicles momentum. 

The interplay between these concepts quickly becomes apparent, as does the ease with which the driver can maintain good travel time while running at lower RPMs.A number of other seemingly obvious but often overlooked points are covered in the coaching session, like proper tire pressure, regular vehicle maintenance, and removing excess weight from the vehicle.  Also, acceleration and speed are not the same thing!   Read the whole article at www.Rethos.com