Tag Archives: grid

Cost of Climate Change, Politics

‘Climate negative’: Canada’s energy transition progress stalls in first Carney budget

By Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget did not deliver new investments on climate or clean tech. In fact, some experts say it takes a step backwards.

The “climate competitiveness strategy” Carney has been teasing spanned 10 pages out of the 406-page document. It committed to improve the federal government’s emissions reduction workhorse — the industrial carbon pricing system — but provided precious few details on how it would do so, while leaving the door wide open to ditching the proposed cap on oil and gas sector emissions and weakening greenwashing rules. 

“This is the most climate negative budget we’ve seen in more than a decade since the Harper era,” Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, a senior researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, told Canada’s National Observer during the budget lockup in Ottawa.

Continue reading ‘Climate negative’: Canada’s energy transition progress stalls in first Carney budget →
Politics

B.C.’s new clean-energy czar is a climate ‘wild card’

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Adrian Dix is B.C.’s new climate and clean energy czar, but it’s not clear whether his appointment signals a new commitment by the NDP government to tackle the province’s growing oil and gas emissions.

Dix, the former health minister who once ran for premier himself, was appointed as the Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions during Premier David Eby’s cabinet shuffle.

With the appointment, Eby also combined responsibility for energy and climate accountability under one roof.

Continue reading B.C.’s new clean-energy czar is a climate ‘wild card’ →
Energy

The Expanding Local Market For Solar Power

A Cortes Island based solar company has been installing more systems that tie into the grid. 

There is a lot of potential for solar energy production in British Columbia. It has been largely untouched because of the province’s reliance on hydro-power and natural gas. As of October 2023, BC Hydro had 8,500 net metering customers with a combined solar capacity of 71 MW. This was only a fraction of the 4,609.5 MW of solar capacity tied to Canada’s grid that year. 

Continue reading The Expanding Local Market For Solar Power →
Cost of Climate Change, Energy

Carrie Saxifrage’s Climate Mitigation Presentation To The SRD Board

1 Comment

Cortes Island author Carrie Saxifrage made a climate mitigation presentation at the May 22 SRD Board meeting. This is an abridged version of that talk. 

She began with a simple admission, “This is my first time. Thank you so much for having me. If I were to do it again, I’d do it a little differently, but here we are. We’re going to whisk through some slides, and I’m going to emphasize what I think is most important.”

Continue reading Carrie Saxifrage’s Climate Mitigation Presentation To The SRD Board →
Transportation

Clean Energy Canada responds to misconceptions about EVs

According to the BC Government, more than 18% of the light duty passenger vehicles sold in the province last year were electric vehicles (EVs). There has been a sixfold increase in the number of annual registrations since 2016 and there are currently more than 100,000 EVS on the roads. Some of them are in remote communities like Cortes Island. As the prospect of a transition to electric vehicles becomes more likely, some are asking if this is really a viable option. 

Last week Clean Energy Canada, a think tank based in Simon Fraser University, responded with media brief addressing common myths about electric vehicles. Rachel Doran, Director of Policy and Strategy at Clean Energy Canada, subsequently agreed to an Q & A interview. 

Continue reading Clean Energy Canada responds to misconceptions about EVs →