I have been very impressed with the work of an organization that has sprouted in Waterloo, Ontario. The Organization is called CREW, or "Community Renewable Energy Waterloo."
The first time I was introduced to the organization was by Derek Satnik, Managing Partner of Mindscape Innovations, based in Kitchener. Derek's website is http://www.mi-group.ca/. He spoke to the Kitchener Rotary Club a few weeks ago and I was very impressed with his understanding of Hubbert's Peak and the energy challenges we are facing and going to face into the future.
He signed up Rotary Club members for a free newsletter from CREW. The latest Newsletter is available at http://www.crewzone.ca/. I was very impressed with the newletter which reports on a coalition of groups in Kitchener-Waterloo which are introducing new energy-saving building technologies and energy sources in Ontario. I was pleasantly surprised to see a weblink to companies which are using photovoltaic cells at their businesses and actually selling energy back to the electric company.
From a business point of view, it is clear to me from Derek's work and that of the individuals behind CREW that very shortly existing and new technologies are going to be combined, packaged, and sold en masse to individuals and companies in Ontario and around the world to reduce use of electricity from traditional sources and to tap into renewable sources to fuel economic growth.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Ontario's New Energy Conservation Plan
Ontario Government to Save Energy
Today, the Ontario Government announced that it was going to spend billions of dollars over the next twenty years to build more nuclear reactors in Ontario to produce electricity. Plans are also being made to reduce energy consumption in Ontario through a conservation campaign.
Market for Energy-Saving Devices
What this means is that we are going to see an explosion in the sale of energy-saving devices and personal energy-generating devices. In the short term, there is going to be a big business opportunity for people in alternative energy.
In fact, I am thinking about getting into retail sales of energy-saving devices on the Internet. Today, I purchased a Folding Solar Powered Panel that can produce 12 Volts of electricity from Canadian Tire. I am testing it to see who efficiently it can charge electrical items.
I also purchased some of those spiral energy-saving light bulbs which are more expensive than the standard ones but are supposed to save 78% of the energy costs. I plugged on in beside an old light bulb and I cannot notice any difference in light generation. I may put together a website selling these items in bulk so that people who do not have ready access to a Canadian Tire or other store can save energy.
The Energy Conservation Paradox
Nuclear power is so expensive to deliver (owing to construction and maintenance costs) that I don't think any future plants should be built. We must look to other, more democratic sources of energy such as solar, tidal, and wind power. Also, conservation of energy tends to ignore that energy conserved in Ontario is just another unit of energy available for consumption somewhere else. From a purely economic point of view, this paradox suggest that conservation is something that we should look at after we have consumed as much cheap energy as possible.
Canadian Tire is already selling larger solar panels for about $500 a piece which can probably generate quite a bit of electricity to batteries for use when needed. Maybe I'll be experimenting with one of those next.
Today, the Ontario Government announced that it was going to spend billions of dollars over the next twenty years to build more nuclear reactors in Ontario to produce electricity. Plans are also being made to reduce energy consumption in Ontario through a conservation campaign.
Market for Energy-Saving Devices
What this means is that we are going to see an explosion in the sale of energy-saving devices and personal energy-generating devices. In the short term, there is going to be a big business opportunity for people in alternative energy.
In fact, I am thinking about getting into retail sales of energy-saving devices on the Internet. Today, I purchased a Folding Solar Powered Panel that can produce 12 Volts of electricity from Canadian Tire. I am testing it to see who efficiently it can charge electrical items.
I also purchased some of those spiral energy-saving light bulbs which are more expensive than the standard ones but are supposed to save 78% of the energy costs. I plugged on in beside an old light bulb and I cannot notice any difference in light generation. I may put together a website selling these items in bulk so that people who do not have ready access to a Canadian Tire or other store can save energy.
The Energy Conservation Paradox
Nuclear power is so expensive to deliver (owing to construction and maintenance costs) that I don't think any future plants should be built. We must look to other, more democratic sources of energy such as solar, tidal, and wind power. Also, conservation of energy tends to ignore that energy conserved in Ontario is just another unit of energy available for consumption somewhere else. From a purely economic point of view, this paradox suggest that conservation is something that we should look at after we have consumed as much cheap energy as possible.
Canadian Tire is already selling larger solar panels for about $500 a piece which can probably generate quite a bit of electricity to batteries for use when needed. Maybe I'll be experimenting with one of those next.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Arctic Oil Grab: Oil at the Top of the World
It should come as little surprise that the Arctic now seems to be becoming contested in the great game of energy.
If you buy into the Peak Oil hypothesis which suggests that world oil production is peaking or soon to peak, then you will think it logical that states will be trying hard to establish claims to oil and natural gas deposits below the Arctic Ocean.
All the evidence on the Internet suggests that world hydrocarbon production (oil, natural gas, coal, etc.) has peaked and is headed into decline. M. King Hubbard, an American geologist, predicted that oil production in the United States would peak in 1970. He was right. Now most countries in the world have peaked in their production of oil.
This is why energy intelligence experts have fanned out across the world to assess the best way to secure supplies for their clients. The Arctic is just the latest place where the quest for the last remaining oil and natural gas deposits of the world is taking place.
I believe that we can expect energy prices to increase markedly over the next ten years if the world has, indeed, passed peak production. Should demand continue to grow has it has so far, then we can expect prices for energy to rise.
The all means that there will be opportunies for entrepreneurs to find new energy sources and to deliver energy in more efficient ways. In Ontario, for instance, the government is switching homes over to "smart metering" which means that draws on the power grid can be managed more efficiently and offers can be made to individual home owners to manage their energy costs.
There are now more-frequent media reports about companies that go door-to-door offering utility payers the opportunity to "lock-in" their monthly payments to avoild fluctuating or higher energy costs. Companies can offer this opportunity by buying futures contracts for energy production to hedge against higher prices.
To me, there would seem to be an opportunity for web entrepreneurs to resell such opportunities on-line.
If you buy into the Peak Oil hypothesis which suggests that world oil production is peaking or soon to peak, then you will think it logical that states will be trying hard to establish claims to oil and natural gas deposits below the Arctic Ocean.
All the evidence on the Internet suggests that world hydrocarbon production (oil, natural gas, coal, etc.) has peaked and is headed into decline. M. King Hubbard, an American geologist, predicted that oil production in the United States would peak in 1970. He was right. Now most countries in the world have peaked in their production of oil.
This is why energy intelligence experts have fanned out across the world to assess the best way to secure supplies for their clients. The Arctic is just the latest place where the quest for the last remaining oil and natural gas deposits of the world is taking place.
I believe that we can expect energy prices to increase markedly over the next ten years if the world has, indeed, passed peak production. Should demand continue to grow has it has so far, then we can expect prices for energy to rise.
The all means that there will be opportunies for entrepreneurs to find new energy sources and to deliver energy in more efficient ways. In Ontario, for instance, the government is switching homes over to "smart metering" which means that draws on the power grid can be managed more efficiently and offers can be made to individual home owners to manage their energy costs.
There are now more-frequent media reports about companies that go door-to-door offering utility payers the opportunity to "lock-in" their monthly payments to avoild fluctuating or higher energy costs. Companies can offer this opportunity by buying futures contracts for energy production to hedge against higher prices.
To me, there would seem to be an opportunity for web entrepreneurs to resell such opportunities on-line.
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