Latest news with #BrendanHaley
Canada Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Canada Standard
A National Grid Should Accelerate-Not Stifle-the Energy Transition
In response to Donald Trump's trade war and annexation threats, Canadians are thirsty for new nation-building projects that can make us less economically reliant on the U.S. One proposal that has been receiving attention is expanding interprovincial electricity transmission, writes Brendan Haley, Efficiency Canada's director of policy research, in a post for Policy Options. Proponents emphasize economic efficiencies from energy trade, and the technical benefits of coupling wind and solar production with "natural batteries" in large hydro reservoirs. Taking lessons from history, past nation-building infrastructure projects of a similar sort came up short in many ways, notably by failing to develop diversified technology systems. To better ensure success this time, complementary, regional renewable energy and energy demand innovations must be made a priority. The transcontinental railway that linked east and west after Confederation protected Canada's territorial integrity in reaction to American threats. Yet, the project's costs and the related national policy locked Canada into economic dependencies and failed to spur diversified industrial development. Policymakers were more focused on building infrastructure than developing industrial research programs or education systems in new technologies and management techniques, as seen in Germany. Banks were more focused on financing resource extraction and large infrastructure than industrial development ventures. Thus, Canada industrialized in a way that failed to foster domestic entrepreneurship and was dependent on American branch plants. The pattern of big infrastructure pushes, in reaction to crises, failing to spur complementary development is recurrent in Canadian history. Fast-forward more than a century and similar patterns continue to unfold. View our latest digests In 2010, the provincial utilities in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador announced a plan to build an undersea transmission link connected to the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the political drive to build the dam and transmission project prevented an independent assessment of alternatives, such as energy efficiency. The dam project ran significant cost overruns. Customers faced potentially large rate increases. Today, policymakers are so focused on managing rate increases that they are neglecting new development opportunities such as allowing utilities to reduce customer bills by switching from oil to electricity for heating and transportation. For a decade, Nova Scotia policymakers were over-dependent on the single megaproject to the detriment of domestic clean-energy solutions like energy efficiency and community-based renewables. The Atlantic Loop, a proposed plan to bring hydroelectric power from Quebec to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, was eventually shelved. Only then was a greater focus placed on domestic energy demand management, storage, and renewables. If the same policy dynamic is repeated, with cross-border megaprojects crowding out domestic clean-energy solutions for a decade, Canada will repeat its pattern of stifled technological development and fail to meet net-zero emission goals in time. Transmission is only one component of a large technology system. To achieve a self-reliant and sustainable future it needs to be coupled with renewable energy and methods to shape demand and supply in real time. Transition to sustainable energy introduces new technical challenges: electrifying home heating and vehicles could lead to spikes in demand during cold days or if everyone charges up their car at the same time. Wind and solar energy generation rises and falls with the weather. A flexible system that can ramp up and down would match renewable generation with demand and manage peaks. Transmission increases flexibility by connecting a wider diversity of energy resources across larger geographies. But transmission needn't work alone. Adding solar generation can reduce the need to transmit electricity. Insulating buildings reduces electricity peaks. In the same way, ratepayers and utilities can work together to pre-charge hot water tanks and pre-heat and pre-cool homes in advance of electricity peaks. Electric vehicles could charge when it makes the most sense for the grid. Industrial operations can time large-scale energy demands to periods when renewables are plentiful and cheap. Making energy demand more flexible and efficient means people and businesses that want to reduce their energy bills can even get compensated, improving both affordability and equity. In addition, homes and local communities can be protected from power outages. One example: Vermont is putting batteries in people's homes instead of building transmission-the batteries balance supply and demand for the grid and can also be used by people if the power cuts out. Local renewable energy and demand-side flexibility resources can still face periods when they will generate more energy than they can use locally, or periods when local generators, energy efficiencies and storage can't keep up with demand. Concern about these demand-supply imbalances have led policymakers and utility managers to put the brakes on renewable-energy development or rely on non-renewable generators that use combustibles as back-up resources. Interprovincial transmission and more local energy systems can complement one another. For instance, local grids could mostly balance hourly and daily ebbs and flows in demand and supply. Interprovincial transmission could manage seasonal differences by using wind and solar generation across the country to give time for hydroelectric reservoirs to fill up so they are ready for the winter heating season in a highly electrified future. Policy choices will determine whether east-west-north electricity interconnections spur-or stifle-the development of multiple complementing clean technologies. If transmission is given primacy as the favoured approach, it is more likely to crowd out other technologies and distract from solutions that are readily available. Conversely, policies that increase local renewable-energy development and electrification will show where transmission can be most effectively used to alleviate constraints that hold back local energy visions. While building transmission takes years or decades, demand-side energy solutions can be deployed in months. The creation of local, energy efficient "microgrids" across the country, capable of meeting their own energy needs most of the time is a national project to increase self-reliance that can start right now. Improving energy efficiency would better prepare for transmission by hedging against megaproject delays, easing peak demands that require electricity imports, and/or free up electricity for cross-border trading. A national grid will be a successful accelerant for clean energy if it plugs into these microgrids with at-the-ready plans to use energy trade as a way to further accelerate local renewables and electrification. If policymakers react to the current crisis by focusing solely on transmission megaprojects, they are likely to repeat a familiar Canadian pattern that will ultimately stifle technological development. We don't have to wait for transmission to improve energy self-reliance. A clean-energy superpower agenda should start by creating diverse local systems that will be complemented by a national grid. This post originally appeared on Policy Options under a Creative Commons licence. Source: The Energy Mix
CBC
01-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Renters want to go green too. Why your landlord may not invest — and what you can do
Hello, Earthlings! This is our weekly newsletter on all things environmental, where we highlight trends and solutions that are moving us to a more sustainable world. Keep up with the latest news on our Climate and Environment page. Renters want to go green too. Why your landlord may not invest — and what you can do Typically, whenever there is discussion about "greening" homes, it's tailored toward homeowners. But what about the one-third of Canadians who rent? How can they try to make their homes more climate friendly? Well, it's a bit difficult, due to something called split incentive: the landlord has to put in the upfront cost to retrofit the building, but it's the tenant who sees the benefits. For example, an energy efficient stove would mean a lower electricity bill, or a HEPA air filter would mean cleaner air, so there's very little incentive for the landlord to make any upgrades. And for the tenant, if the landlord does make upgrades, their rent could go up or they could face renoviction — where renters get evicted for renovations, and units may be re-rented later at a higher price. Brendan Haley, senior director of policy strategy at Efficiency Canada, a think-tank that researches energy efficiency and the economy, said that he doesn't like the framing of split incentives. Instead, he feels that it is something that needs to be done, despite any financial benefits. "Having a healthy, energy-efficient building, as the climate is changing should be almost a requirement, and not something where we get all bent out of shape about who pays and who benefits, but something that is a requirement if you're owning a building." Tony Irwin, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations, said that there are many challenges for building owners when it comes to retrofitting. "We do have members who want to do it, but, you know, they look at the economic realities of doing it, and it is, no doubt, quite challenging just to make the numbers [work], or to be able to secure the financing to do the work," he said. Additionally, there is the difficulty of doing work on aging infrastructure. "Toronto last year was talking about wanting to bring in maximum heat [bylaws] in buildings. So in other words, forcing air conditioning," he said. "And people think, 'well, that should be easy, why wouldn't people want to do that?'" But because many of the buildings are old — built in the 1970s or earlier — "it's not a straightforward exercise," said Irwin. Haley said that Efficiency Canada is looking to improve energy efficiency and also protect tenant rights, but there's a need for more policies to do that. Kari Hyde, manager of utilities and demand-side management at the Pembina Institute said that addressing the split incentive is a challenge, as it not only requires conversations between building owners and tenants, but also requires the federal government, provincial governments and municipalities to work in tandem. "It's really the federal government who has to start kind of figuring out what a high performance building code looks like, and how do we do that appropriately, without the concerns of renovictions," she said. Haley said that he's seen city campaigns such as some by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a tenant advocacy group not only pushing for maximum heat bylaws, but performance labels on buildings so the tenant understands what they might expect in terms of high bills or other problems. "The other policy [suggested by ACORN] is there's just mandatory energy performance standards where a building has to meet a certain either energy or greenhouse gas performance standard, and if it doesn't meet that performance standard, the building owner can receive a fine." Though the solutions may not necessarily be there at the moment in terms of policies, Bob Grove, author at Climate Council, an advocacy group for climate change solutions and education, said there are ways renters can make a difference through their actions at home, including: Changing any lightbulbs if they're not LEDs. Weatherproofing any windows or doors to prevent heat from leaking. Using an induction cooktop instead of the stove. Buying a countertop convection oven. He recognized that not everyone can afford these things, but he said they can be considered an investment and move with you just like your furniture. "So, you know, I move into my next apartment, I'm unplugging the electric range, I'm putting my induction cooktop on top of it, and then I set my microwave someplace, and that becomes my oven," he said. "So I've got all the functionality in that kitchen without using those legacy appliances that are so inefficient. And when I'm done, I just move all my stuff with me, put their light bulbs back in, plug their stove back in, and, hey, I didn't change anything." Check out our podcast and radio show. In our newest episode: Canada's first local state of emergency due to drought was declared on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia in 2022. The shortage was so bad, officials feared the region would run out of water for hospitals and fire departments. And the Coast has been under severe water restrictions for five of the last eight summers, a situation experts warn could become the norm. In her documentary, "Drought in the rainforest," Liz Hoath with CBC's audio doc unit tells the story of a community hit hard by rising temperatures and what some call the local government's failure to plan for climate change. What On Earth drops new podcast episodes every Wednesday and Saturday. You can find them on your favourite podcast app or on demand at CBC Listen. The radio show airs Sundays at 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador. Reader Feedback Last week's issue included a profile of Sylvie D'Aoust, also known as Recycle Warrior Grl, who recycles old appliances she picks up on the curb in Chelsea, Que. Michael Le Bas of Vancouver wrote: "Hats off to Sylvie D'Aoust! Reducing the amount of material that goes to the dump takes a conscious effort. The same with re-using. Bravo to Sylvie for making parts available online. I live in a 41-unit apartment complex and decided several years ago to take the owners' soft plastic, batteries, light bulbs and styrofoam to our local zero waste centre. Up till then it was going to the dump. I am 77 so I do it for my grandchildren hoping, in my small way, to make the future a better place to live." Write us at whatonearth@ (And feel free to send photos, too!) The Big Picture: The great cardboard-animal migration A cardboard kuzu stretches its neck to smell a flower on a tree. A troop of monkeys skips through the forest. A gorilla tentatively stretches its forearm towards the water and hesitates – how will it cross the Congo River to continue its great migration? These are just some of the dozens of life-sized cardboard animals stampeding along city streets around the world to draw attention to the issue of climate change. The puppet animals, which began their 20,000-kilometre migration at the Kinshasa Botanical Garden in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in early April, will pass through Marrakesh this weekend and then push northward into Europe, as they "flee" from the harms of climate change. By the time the herd crosses the Arctic Circle in Norway in early August, its ranks will have swelled to the hundreds, picking up vervet monkeys, wolves, reindeer and other local animals (and puppeteers) along the way. The public art initiative, called The Herds, combines puppetry, storytelling and activism. It's the latest project of The Walk Productions, which toured a giant puppet of a nine-year-old Syrian refugee girl from Turkey to the United Kingdom in 2021. Co-founder, playwright and director Amir Nizar sees the recycled animals as " a wake-up call, urging us to change our ways." You can follow the migration on Instagram and YouTube, or make your own puppets out of recycled materials. — Hannah Hoag Flaunting fur might be back, thanks in part to sustainable shoppers For Mina Ely, fur has never been out of style. With her family's Russian Jewish heritage, furs were the norm for both esthetic and practical reasons during cold Toronto winters. "I would always remember when they would go out, or when they would go to shul, it was just something they would wear, because you can't drive on Shabbat," she told Cost of Living. "I always looked at my mom like, 'wow' … I loved the way it looked. It just symbolized so much elegance." Today Ely runs her own luxury fur brand based in Toronto, Arpino, designing coats for celebrities, hockey wives and other wealthy clients. She says business has been up in the last year. Ely and others who work in the fur trade and the wider fashion industry say there's been a recent uptick in interest in wearing real fur — both new and vintage. That's following decades of contraction in fur sales, largely fuelled by successful campaigns from organizations like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which drew attention to the plight of the animals killed to make fur garments. Part of the renewed interest, fur industry people say, is linked to growing concern for sustainable fashion, both reusing existing materials — in the case of vintage fur — or in choosing natural materials over plastic-based alternatives that won't break down in a landfill. But animal rights organizations dispute claims that furs are more sustainable and more popular, saying it's just the last gasp of a dying industry. Mark Downey, CEO of the Fur Harvesters Auction in North Bay, Ont. — the only wild fur auction house in North America — said he first noticed a spike in interest in the summer of 2023. That's when buyers from countries that require visas to travel to Canada started getting in touch to gather the necessary paperwork to attend the auction that would be held the following spring. "So you got like [people from] Turkey, China, any of these places that want to attend our auction have to call here and ask for what's called a letter of invitation," Downey said. "The amount of letters of invitation we were getting requested for…. It was just crazy." Prices rose accordingly. The skin of a marten, sometimes referred to as Canadian sable, averaged $49 in 2023, rising to $98.50 at last month's auction where every species sold out, he says. "They bought everything, right down to the last hair; we had nothing left, cleaned us right out." Part of the demand, says Downey, is a kind of retro appeal. Leah Van Loon, a stylist and fashion writer who splits her time between Calgary and Paris, says she's noticed a resurgence she attributes partly to the fact that, these days, "a lot of young people want to look like old people…. You want to like you're sort of already at an age where you've made it." Stronger still, though, is a trend away from fast fashion, she says. "You don't need more things; you just need better things that you take care of better." Rob Cahill, who runs a new and vintage furrier called Cahill's in Peterborough, Ont., says the family business just had a particularly good season. He says thrifting enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s are behind most of their shop's boost in sales, particularly of vintage coats. Parting with a few hundred dollars — or even up to $1,000 or more — for a second-hand fur they expect to last a long time strikes these customers as worthwhile given a high-quality goose down parka can retail for $1,500 to $1,800, Cahill says. It also didn't hurt that it was a particularly cold winter, he says. Fuelled by interest in sustainable fashion That tracks with what Anne Bissonnette, a University of Alberta professor and curator of the university's clothing and textiles collection, has observed. "People might spend a whole lot of money on outdoor wear that is very high tech, but this outdoor wear … is often made out of polyester and nylon and things that don't biodegrade," said Bissonnette. "After you buy a few of these coats, you realize that fur is something that keeps you really warm, and First Nation people, Inuit people, have thrived and survived because of their ability to understand and use fur in ways that were really fantastic," she said. Ethically, some will not be comfortable with that, Bissonnette says, despite improvements to programs that help consumers trace garments to particular fur farms to get to know their practices, or, as Mark Downey points out, new, more humane standards for traps on the wild-fur side of things. "Now, they still get killed at the end, right?" said Bissonnette. "But the same is true for cows, and we use leather." Animal rights orgs dispute a fur comeback The Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada said in a statement to CBC it "does not support industrial-based, non-Indigenous use of animal fur for fashion. The practice of fur-farming is unethical, and subjects animals to inhumane conditions." Ashley Byrne, director of outreach communication at PETA, says, "The truth is that a handful of vintage shoppers have been buying vintage coats for years. Most of those people would never dream of buying a new fur coat… I think it's a little more visible now because you have all these little micro trends going on, you know, TikTok, and they're visually blowing up." Byrne points to contraction in the industry, which includes the closure of the two other major North American fur auctions in 2018 and 2019, as well as Kopenhagen Fur, the world's largest fur auction, in 2023.
