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Fast + Epp builds its own new mass timber head office
Fast + Epp builds its own new mass timber head office
Vancouver-based structural engineering firm Fast + Epp will be using a home-grown product, B.C. timber in its new four-storey head office. The project is being supported in funding through Natural Resources Canada’s Green Construction through Wood Program.
Philly apartment takes on net-zero energy challenge
• Daily Commercial News • Sustainable Biz Canada
The Front Flats development in downtown Philadelphia may provide a glimpse of future multi-storey buildings that aim for true net-zero energy status. The four-storey, 28-unit apartment building is wrapped on all sides with 492 translucent solar panels.
VIA Rail earns LEED Gold for Ottawa station
VIA Rail Canada’s (VIA Rail) Ottawa station has earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold v4.1 certification for Operations and Maintenance for Existing Buildings, the Canada Green Building Council’s (CaGBC) second-highest level of accreditation.
SFU engineers develop mobile thermal battery
Engineers at Simon Fraser University (SFU) think mobile thermal heat delivery could be a thing. They calculate that six mobile heat tanks delivered by truck each day could supply 40 per cent of the Surrey district energy system’s peak heating needs.
U of A researcher pitches mineral carbonation
• CBC
Sasha Wilson, a biogeochemist and an associate professor at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Science, and recent advisor to U.S. policy-makers, is studying how mineral carbonation can suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turn it into rock.
Shopify buys contract to suck CO2 out of the air
• Financial Post • Axios • betakit
Canadian e-commerce company Shopify Inc. announced it will pay to remove 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, making it one of the first corporations to utilize large-scale carbon removal technology as part of its effort to limit climate change.
Alberta, Ottawa launch carbon capture group
• Globe and Mail • Globe and Mail
Alberta and Ottawa announced a plan to develop a carbon capture strategy to expand the use of the technology in the oil sector, following on Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s claim Canada risks falling behind as a leader in carbon capture.
Is the ‘legacy’ carbon credit market a plus or hype?
• Yale 360
As major corporations look to buy carbon credits to offset emissions, critics are questioning the value of “legacy” credits from green projects that are a decade or more old. Experts say the credit system needs to be reformed.
Carbon offset rules raise farmer advocate’s concern
Projects that qualify to sell federal GHG credits to offset industrial carbon taxes must have started in the past four years and go “beyond business-as-usual practices” raising concerns for farmers who might not be rewarded for decades of responsible practices.
How to get net-zero right
How to get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 is complex. Infinite scenarios are compatible with reaching net-zero, but not all are compatible with keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius and delivering a more inclusive, resilient and competitive economy.
Financing the climate gap
You would be forgiven for thinking that the pandemic reduced Canadians’ appetite for climate action. It didn’t. Canada, the U.S. and Europe have embraced new pathways for reducing greenhouse gas emissions linked to building back better from the pandemic.
Quebec needs billions in renewables investment by 2030
Quebec must invest from $10.3 billion to $13.2 billion by 2030 in order to achieve its climate objectives by adding new energy production capacities totaling approximately 56 terawatt-hours (TWh), affirms the Quebec Association for the Production of Renewable Energy (AQPER).
Renewable energy project insurance losses climb
Insurance losses on renewable energy projects due to natural catastrophes are becoming more prevalent according to GCube’s report Hail or High Water. The average weather-related solar loss for renewable projects is almost 2,400% higher than the average non-weather-related solar loss in 2019.
Transition to EV will be uneven across Canadian cities
Canadian cities have a hodgepodge of measures: building public charging stations, requiring new multifamily buildings to provide suitable plug-ins, encouraging people to take advantage of provincial discounts for adding plugs and rules around where electric cords can go.
EV charging infrastructure hits the big time in U.S.
• GreenBiz
Electric vehicle charging is emerging into the spotlight like never before in American history. ChargePoint (CHPT-N), a 14-year-old company, recently began trading on the NYSE, claiming to be the first publicly traded electric vehicle charging company operating across continents.
Zoom isn’t carbon-free: The climate cost of staying home
• CS Monitor • CS Monitor
For many, the pandemic has forced daily activities online, and when people do log off and go outside, some have seen a world healing, smog clearing, stars brighter and wildlife returning, suggesting that a digital world is an eco-friendly world.
A systems approach to electrifying existing buildings
Late in 2020, San Mateo County in California convened Bay Area organizations to determine how best to electrify existing single-family homes, eventually choosing Presidio Graduate School’s PGS Consults team to facilitate a systems-thinking approach to the challenge.
N.B. group looks to lure wind farm project
• CBC
A wind energy project that’s not wanted in a tiny community in New Brunswick could find a new home just down the road. A local non-profit group says it would welcome Fredericton-based Naveco Power relocating its project from nearby Anse-Bleue.
First commercial-scale U.S. offshore wind farm clears hurdle
• Reuters
The Interior Department in the U.S. completed its final environmental review of what will be the first commercial-scale U.S. offshore wind farm, the Vineyard Wind project, an 800-megawatt project off Massachusetts, clearing a key hurdle needed to permit the project.
Green hydrogen project at Brookfield’s Pa. hydro site
A fast-growing U.S. maker of hydrogen fuel cells has signed a deal to produce green hydrogen by using hydroelectricity from Brookfield Renewable Partners’ (BEP-UN-T) Holtwood power plant in Pennsylvania, as the industry touts the dawn of an energy revolution.
BMO joins Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials
The Bank of Montreal, one of the world’s leading financial institutions when it comes to sustainability, joined Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), a global partnership of financial institutions, to work together towards addressing greenhouse gas emissions.
Industry Events
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Canada Green Building Council: Building Lasting Change 2024
Jun 05 2024
to Jun 06 2024
Toronto
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Global Conference on Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability
Aug 16 2024
to Aug 18 2024
Vancouver, Canada
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