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Air Water Land - Energy Evolution —May 5, 2008
Long before the production of ethanol for use as a fuel additive became a
growth industry in Canada, Toronto-based Commercial Alcohols Inc. had
established an ethanol business based on the beverage and industrial alcohols
markets.
When residents of Toronto and other southern Ontario cities want to escape
their concrete jungles in the summertime many of them drive 700-800 kilometres
away to beautiful, rustic Manitoulin Island, where modern conveniences such as
piped-in natural gas have not yet arrived.
If you're in the environmental technology business there's probably no better
place to be in Canada than Ontario, according to the head of an organization
that represents the industry in that province.
When Peter Sundberg bought his house in Victoria last year he knew the
circa-1947 home would be a prime candidate for an energy audit.
As prices of all commodities -- ranging from crude oil to soybeans to gold --
continue their upward trajectory there is a previously unnoticed area that
investors have started to pay a good deal of attention to, and in doing so
they're helping the environment and their bank accounts.
Centre de recherche industrielle du Quebec (CRIQ) is a key participant in a
network that aims to fast-track Mother Nature's own greenhouse gas (GHG)
recycling process with a system that would handle large volumes of carbon
dioxide (CO2) from industry.
Companies like Vancouver-based Petromin Resources Ltd., which generated all
of $2 million in revenue last year, and Kelowna-based Pacific Asia China Energy
Inc. (PACE), which lost $2.46 million, don't exactly pop into people's heads
when they think of Canadian energy firms expanding to China.
In order for customer choice to be effective in competitive electricity and
natural gas markets, consumers need information, the retail companies require
clear rules, while rates and pricing signals have to be accurate.
The first quarter report by the Market Surveillance Administrator (MSA) on
the wholesale electricity market showed prices averaged $76.95 per megawatt
hour, up from $63.29 in 2007.
BC Hydro and Power Authority's existing domestic generation system is
90% clean, but for the last several years, British Columbia has been required to
import less environmentally friendly power to meet demand, says a year-end
report.
Canada needs more inter-provincial power generation, including an east-west
grid, according to several delegates attending the Canadian Association of
Members of Public Utility Tribunals (CAMPUT) conference.
A globalization factor has entered into the energy regulatory scene in
Canada, with decisions potentially leading a to a fluidity of production and
consumption
Canadian utilities regulators got a glimpse into the debate over the cost of
capital and rates of return (ROR) allowed for gas utilities, which will play out
before the National Energy Board (NEB) later this year.
The federal government needs to act now to develop a national energy policy
to ensure that in decades to come Canada will have the energy and the
infrastructure needed to deliver it, says the Gaz Metro Limited Partnership
head.
The refining sector reflected lower margins for three of the four major
Canadian integrated energy companies in the first quarter compared to 2007.
Cost was the most commonly mentioned response as the single most important
issue involving electricity and natural gas in Ontario, according to a report by
Environics Research Group Ltd.
Saskatchewan Power Corporation is continuing its efforts to improve
electrical service to northern communities.
Canada is the single largest market for all United States coal exports as
well as the primary North American destination of the steam coal variety, says a
year-end report from the Energy Information Administration.
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