Speakers generate buzz at ENERGY FORUM 09

By Terry Hadley & Kara Turcotte (April 27, 2008)

ENERGY FORUM 09: Powering the future

Homepage photo: Terry Hadley
Article photo: Dave Roels

Panel 1
Renewable energy: B.C.’s rising star
By Terry Hadley

Keynote speaker, Dr. John S. Macdonald, chairman and CEO, Day4Energy Inc. and a co-founder and former president and CEO of Canada's principal space company, MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates Photo: D.Roels
The first panel gave an insight into the opportunities that lie ahead for British Columbia as one of the richest regions in the world in renewable energy.

Speakers were Donna LeClair, chief technology officer, BC Hydro; Doug Little, senior vice president customer development & strategy, British Columbia Transmission Corporation; Donald McInnes, vice-Chairman and CEO, Plutonic Power Corporation Inc. and Paul Taylor, president and CEO, Naikun Wind Energy Group Inc.

Taylor said “wind is a mainstream energy source” and should not be sidelined as an “alternative.” The top five wind-energy countries have now installed a total of 87,000 megawatts (Germany alone has 24,000) and there is a definite move to larger, more efficient turbines.

Taylor listed the advantages of wind energy: it is renewable, does not produce toxins, it is not exposed to commodity price fluctuations and generation has no fuel costs.

However, Canada is slower to change over, although the potential is there. It currently has 2,300 megawatts installed.

Off-shore wind farms with larger turbines are proving to be a more efficient “emerging technology” producing more energy, so compensating for higher installation costs. The off-shore Naikun Wind Energy Project in northern B.C. will generate 396 megawatts – enough to power 130,000 homes north of Quesnel when it becomes operational in 2014.

McInnes pointed out information services of the future all consume huge amounts of energy. Major Google data centres need 100 megawatts of power to operate. “Dream with me,” McInnes said. “We could be the server farm of the Pacific Northwest!”

McInnes believes B.C. has the potential to become “the world’s leading exporter of clean energy.”

“The nation that leads the world in clean energy will lead that world economy. We can be that nation,” he said.

Doug Little added we are in “remarkable times” and that transmission has reached new heights of importance as renewable generation has to be located where the energy is sourced – it then has to be transported where it is needed. Energy demand is up by 25 per cent since 1990 while transmission lines have declined by 30 per cent, so the expected upsurge in demand will generate new jobs and new revenue streams.

“Transmission is finally on the political radar like never before,” he said, acknowledging that the province’s 2007 Energy Plan focuses on transmission with a plan looking forward 30 years.

 

Panel 2
Natural gas in B.C.: Going green with blue
By Terry Hadley

Michael Graham, executive Vice President and President, Canadian Foothills Division, EnCana said B.C. has huge potential, currently boasting more natural gas reserves than Alberta. He believes the Horn River site could eventually rival the Texas Basin.

“Natural gas will play an important role in our future,” said Gary Weilinger, vice president, strategic development and external affairs, Spectra Energy Transmission West. Spectra’s new projects alone will generate 30 per cent more gas over the next three years.

“Natural gas is the cleanest and most efficient fossil fuel by far,” he said, emphasizing that it is not just a stop-gap until renewables take over.

“We need to be realistic on the transfer to renewables,” he said, predicting that even by 2030, only eight to 10 per cent of the global energy supply will be generated by renewables. “So we need natural gas.”

Randy Jespersen, president and CEO, Terasen Inc. agreed on the growing importance of natural gas and that B.C. can become a leading supplier. “We are undergoing a renaissance in natural gas in North America,” he said, because while it is a fossil fuel, it is “uniquely different and well-positioned” to take on the current world market.

Jespersen’s vision is that natural gas should be used directly for high volume utilities such as heating, leaving hydro electricity for lighting.

He said future gas energy will see increased introduction of biogas and landfill gas into the distribution network as it becomes more economically viable, along with waste bio gas and bio-thermal energy, so creating “integrated community energy systems,” currently hindered by differing zoning and area regulations.

Jespersen also identified a growing need for natural gas in the transportation sector, a topic expanded upon by final speaker, David Demers, CEO of UBC spin-off Westport Innovations. Westport is carving a niche world market with its state-of-the-art natural gas engines focusing on heavy duty vehicles such as buses, trucks and cement mixers.

There are 10 million natural gas vehicles in the world today, according to Demers, with some countries already committed to moving 100 per cent of its transportation over to natural gas. Westport has already exported 20,000 to markets such as Cairo, Delhi and Los Angeles, where half the port’s container trucks will be running on natural gas engines assembled here  – “great news for B.C.!”

Demers sees transportation powered by natural gas as “not just a green solution; we’re about creating a better solution.”

In Vancouver alone, 56 Translink buses now run with natural gas engines. “It’s cleaner, quieter and cheaper to operate,” Demers said. “Why not do it? And it can create more jobs.”

According to Demers, transportation accounts for 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the Lower Mainland, and 100 per cent of heavy duty vehicles converting to natural gas would remove 1.8 billion tonnes of diesel fuel a year from B.C. alone.

“This is exactly the time to think about the future; the economy is going to pick up,” he said. “I think we need to aim B.C.’s economy where the world’s going!”

Panel 3
B.C.’s clean-tech cluster: Green collar jobs and the low carbon economy
By Kara Turcotte

Harvie Campbell, executive vice president, Pristine Power Inc. believes the clean tech industry benefits B.C.’s economy, environment, and community. “Clean energy technology stabilizes an industry, like forestry,” Campbell said.

The clean tech industry employs over 3,000 people, and is not contracting like other B.C. industries. Support from the provincial government, coupled with Obama administration’s plan to double its supply of renewable energy, show opportunities for growth in the industry.

Jonathan Rhone, president and CEO, Nexterra Energy Corp. said, “even though B.C. is world-class, there is huge competition” with Germany, Japan, Indian, China, and the EU organizing themselves to make Clean Tech a priority.

Rhone believes that B.C.’s clean tech industry needs a more cooperative relationship with universities because “if we don’t encourage early adoption, we loose innovation.” Rhone predicts that B.C.’s industry has the potential to increase its annual net revenue from $750 million to $5-6 billion in 10 years.

Ross MacLachlan, president & CEO, Lignol Energy Corporation believes B.C. needs to be brave. “Commercialization is needed to optimize processes,” says MacLachlan, with cellulosic ethanol plants costing $100-500 million.

The province is blessed with resources, and has embedded technology throughout the economy and universities. “You can’t just buy technology and move it,” MacLachlan said.

Cheryl Slusarchuk, partner, McCarthy Tétrault, and co-president, Premier’s Technology Council believes that clean yech Industry growth in B.C. is similar to the late ‘80s, early ‘90s technology boom and that “it is important to look at the quality and potential to grow.”

Early adoption in B.C. is key for growth and success in the clean tech industry, with industry, government, NGOs, and universities all starting to work together towards carbon neutral sustainability. Slusarchuk mentioned B.C. has access to funding including the Pacific Carbon Trust, which provides B.C. businesses with the opportunity to sell their carbon offsets.

Keynote speaker
Energy challenges and opportunities in the 21st century
By Kara Turcotte

Dr. John S. Macdonald, OC, chairman and CEO, Day4Energy Inc. and a co-founder and former president and CEO of Canada's principal space company, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, presented the three main energy issues facing the 21st Century as keynote speaker,

Macdonald also explored opportunities for B.C.’s Renewable Energy Industry to provide world-leading solutions.

Dependence on foreign energy, concerns over climate change, and demand vs. supply drive the future of energy production. “When will the demand for energy exceed the conventional supply?” asked Macdonald, who sees 2020 as a reasonable estimate.

Macdonald believes renewable energy sources are required to fill the gap. Increasing concerns over uncharted climate change have shifted policy focus towards finding economically sound renewable energy sources.

“Renewable sources need to be either intermittent or strongly location dependant, or both,” said Macdonald. A missing link is the lack of storage capacity for intermittent sources like wind and solar, as there is “no truly portable, large-scale energy storage that can plant down anywhere.”

What does this mean for those of us in B.C.? Big opportunity, since every single renewable source is present, and B.C. attracts creative problem solvers. B.C. needs to build a world-class industry that is based on exporting our renewable energy sources. Government leadership through adopting renewable energy at institutions and through policy is necessary.

In order for government and others to get on board with renewable energy sources, Macdonald believes we need to educate people on the effects of climate change, and provide an understanding of the benefits of renewable energy sources to B.C.’s economy.

“Saving the earth is nonsense. It will be here for the next four billion years. The question is – will we?” he said, adding that B.C. is one of the most energy-rich regions on the planet.

“This is a huge opportunity for B.C.,” Macdonald concluded before his Q&A session with the audience. “Our traditional energy sources will not be with my great-grandchildren and probably not with my grandchildren.”