Air Water Land - Magazine Contents —September 2009

Editor’s note

Editor's note

During the Energy Services Summit in Edmonton in July, Jeff Rubin—a man whose views often run counter to conventional thinking—made a convincing argument about why we haven’t seen the last of triple-digit oil prices.

Air

Shifting headwinds

Despite recession, Bullfrog Power exec says shift to renewables such as wind is here to stay

Although the company is only five years old, Bullfrog Power has become the only company in Canada that provides electricity exclusively from green sources. In Alberta, it relies primarily on wind power, though in Ontario it uses power generated from hydro as well. In an interview with Air Water Land contributor Kelley Stark, Theresa Howard, vice-president of Bullfrog’s western region, talks about the recession’s effect on business, the future of renewable resources, and other topics.

Water

Straining the water supply

Clean energy production sounds great, but relies heavily on limited resource

While much attention in the public debate around clean energy production has been centred on the need to reduce carbon emissions, a new report suggests that energy’s growing impact on the planet’s dwindling water sources cannot be underestimated.

Land

Trumpeting responsible development

Producers’ group addressing concerns in Horn River Basin

Producers operating in the super-hot Horn River Basin in northeastern British Columbia are taking specific actions to ensure that environmental stewardship and stakeholder concerns are not being ignored.

Features

Quest for a better biofuel

Examining the myths and realities of renewable fuels

Times have changed since that old Beverly Hillbilly Jed Clampett “went shooting at some food and up through the ground come a bubblin’ crude.”

Alternative Energy

Alternative energy

Government invests in biodiesel plant

The federal government has announced that it will invest $72.4 million in one of the largest continuous flow biodiesel production plants in the world.

Alternative energy

Offshore project gets a push

The Haida Nation has taken a 40 per cent stake in a planned $2-billion offshore wind energy project in British Columbia.

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy

Imagine geothermal to electricity

The Alberta Energy Research Institute has approved $2.6 million for Borealis GeoPower to research the use of geothermal energy from deep oil and gas wells in the Canadian Foothills for the production of electrical power.

Departments

Just the facts

6,300: Number of megawatts of electricity that would have been generated had Bruce Power decided to build two new reactors in Ontario. This past summer, the company notified the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency that it was withdrawing its site licence applications and suspending environmental assessments in two counties where the reactors were proposed. The decision, the company said, will have no impact on plans to introduce nuclear energy to either Alberta or Saskatchewan.