By Roy L Hales
BC took another step towards Premier Christy Clark’s goal of developing a $1 trillion dollar LNG industry yesterday.
Chevron/Apache awarded a contract for the engineering, procurement and construction of a Natural gas plant at Bish Cove near Kitimat.
While most of us are attempting to do away with fossil fuels, British Columbia is trying to ramp up production. Some plan to make this most beautiful of Canadian provinces a major exporter of American coal and tar sands bitumen. One of the most promising natural gas fields in the world is in the north eastern corner of our province. Some aspects of this have been well publicized in the Canadian media, as every level of government – from our Prime Minister, to the Premier of BC, to individual municipalities – are involved. The Wilderness Committee have provided the best overview, a must-see Climate Change video: “Save the Salish Sea.”
Continue reading A MUST SEE Climate Change video: “Save the Salish Sea”
Back in the early 1970‘s, Canada led the world in the development of Solar Thermal energy. Then the oil embargo ended, prices came down, and the incentives and grants dried up. More than a decade passed before what had once been Canadian technology resurfaced in Germany. It became part of that nation’s “energiewende,” a state mandated green energy policy that has transformed Germany into the world’s foremost producer of solar energy. Yet, according to Canada’s only NABCEP Certified Solar Thermal Installer, James Smyth, there is more potential for solar thermal technology on the West Coast.
“Looking around the street where I live, I can see that every house could gain by adopting Solar Thermal energy,” he said.
It was a hot August day. Thanks to the ten solar panels recently installed on his garage roof, Hans Wekking was getting more than enough energy for his house and his EV. Pointing to his meter box, he said, “Right now, its showing that we are putting power in the grid.” There would have been nothing unusual about this scene in California, but in British Columbia it made the news.
According to Alevtina Akbulatova, of BC Hydro, there are 250 rooftop solar installations in the province.
Originally published in Heartwood, Field Notes
In July, I had the honour of taking a ride through the Discovery Islands with sailor and tour guide Mike Moore on his converted fishing boat Misty Isles.
Continue reading Heartwood productions: Logging in the Discovery Islands
