In The Media
November 22nd, 2011
Germany an example of how sustainable energy can boost the economy
KITCHENER — Germany doesn’t get much sunshine. Its coastlines are not huge.
Yet in the course of a decade, that country managed to become a global production centre for solar and off-shore wind energy and created more than 300,000 renewable energy jobs in the process.
Chris Turner, author of The Leap: How to Survive and Thrive in the Sustainable Economy, says if Canada wants a sustainable economy, Germany is the model to look at.
“What we are actually seeing right now is the failure of a growth economy that’s built on fossil fuels,” Turner said in an interview prior to giving a talk at a Sustainable Waterloo Region event in Kitchener on Tuesday night. The event was held in partnership with the German Consulate, Canada’s Technology Triangle and WalterFedy.
“In dealing with the economic sector in turmoil, the increasing competition for increasingly scarce natural resources and of course the climate problem, which is the trump card in the deck, the only thing that aims at all three problems and cracks all three is to have new investments in sustainability and green energy technology,” Turner said.
Turner described the German “leap” into this sector through its “deceptively simple” feed-in-tariff program, by which people could generate green power and sell it into the electricity grid at rates higher than the going rate for electricity. “The genius of it was that it was really very simple,” Turner said. “All they did was to change the way that energy was priced.”
Germany boosted its share of green energy on its grid from 6.3 per cent in 2000 to over 20 per cent now. “Not only did the Germans put a lot of green energy on the grid, but they became world leaders in making solar panels, wind turbines, high efficiency windows and things like that,” he said.
Turner credits the vision of the late Hermann Scheer, a Social Democrat and environmentalist who saw, early on, that climate change was going to be “the defining issue for generations to come.”
Of course, the program has its critics. Germany recently reduced what it pays for solar energy. Critics say that makes solar industries vulnerable. Also, the industry is now being hit by the fact that China is bringing extremely low-cost solar modules onto the market.
Arise Technologies, a debt-laden solar company headquartered in Waterloo, recently announced that it was shutting down its solar-cell manufacturing plant in Germany.
But Turner said Germany is still investing heavily in a green energy future. “They did reduce the solar rate, but they have massively increased the investment in offshore wind, which they see as a big replacement for nuclear power.”
As with any new industry, “there is a lot of volatility in small companies starting up and some fail and some succeed,” he said. “But as an industry, it is absolutely thriving.”
Ontario’s feed-in-tariff program somewhat follows the German example and has also faced a lot of criticism. But Turner sees the problem in Ontario as being in the implementation rather than the concept.
“The solar developers talk about the fact that people want it and the industry has ramped up to serve it, but you wait indefinitely for your application to be approved and to actually connect to the grid,” Turner said.
Turner said even before the feed-in regulations, Germany had a “100,000 Roof” program that provided loans for people wanting to install solar roofs. That didn’t add a lot of energy into the grid, but as thousands of Germans got involved, “it was very effective as a social change agent.”
Turner says “the power of decentralized energy production” is the way forward in the new economy.
“The power of decentralized energy production has often been compared to the way that the internet has changed the way we think about telecommunications. It has gone from a one-way service to the omni-directional web we now exist in. That’s where you start to see the opportunities,” Turner said
May 31st, 2011
Over the next 10 years, the Region of Waterloo plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 40,000 tonnes. Dave Roewade, environmental sustainability planner for the region, unveiled the plan at a forum hosted by Sustainable Waterloo Region last Friday.
“The real action is not at the international level . . . it’s at the local level,” Roewade said.
The two landfills in Waterloo Region — including the active landfill on Erb Street in Waterloo and the now-closed site in Cambridge — account for almost half of 148,000 tonnes of green house gas emitted from region-provided services each year.
“Honestly, I’ll admit I didn’t realize the fugitive gas emission was going to be so big,” Roewade told the audience.
By comparison, the region’s fleet of about 1,000 vehicles, including GRT buses and garbage trucks, accounts for about 24 per cent, or 36,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas.
Regional council recently approved the plan to reduce GHG by 14 per cent per capita by 2019.
Part of that reduction will come from new operations at the landfill — almost 9,600 additional tonnes per year could be saved through the green bin program alone.
Other savings are expected to come from several sources, including changes in government buildings, streetlights, and the traffic signals at 750 intersections.
“We hope other members can learn from what Waterloo Region has done over the years,” said Mike Morrice, executive director of Sustainable Waterloo Region.
He points out that the region’s plan is equivalent to “about 9,000 cars off the road every year.”
It’s important to inventory what your emissions are now before deciding how to reduce them, Roewade said.
“Actions must be realistic, measurable and feasible,” he said. “Set ones that are ambitious, but still achievable.”
It’s also important to measure the cost per tonne of emissions saved. For instance, offsets from planting trees costs about $30 per tonne saved; retrofitting streetlights costs about $5,000 per tonne saved; using greener vehicles, $4,150.
Reducing emissions from government-run services has to be balanced with budget implications.
“You want to get bang for your buck,” Roewade said.
It’s estimated the plan will cost the region $8.8 million in new spending, which would be paid back in savings in about 10 years.
“Is our plan enough? Well, to be honest, I don’t think it is,” he said. “But it’s a step in the right direction.”
May 27th, 2011
WATERLOO — The Region of Waterloo outlined plans to keep its own operations green at an educational forum hosted by Sustainable Waterloo Region on Friday morning. David Roewade, the region’s environmental sustainability planner, said they hope to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 14 per cent per capita by 2019. This would mean a reduction of nearly 41,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases between now and 2019. The region’s greenhouse gas emissions totalled about 148,000 tonnes in 2010, with most of those emissions coming from the landfill, municipal building and facilities and transit. According to Roewade, it’s about walking all the environmental talk coming from the region. “Anything we ask of the community, we have to do ourselves,” said Roewade. “It’s part of the public-trust value chain. To get the public’s confidence, the government needs to demonstrate their responsibility.” Cutting the greenhouse gas emissions won’t be easy, especially given the population growth that is expected for the region in the next decade. The regional plan expects to achieve the cuts through plans like green bin expansion, improved burning of methane at the landfill, switching to hybrid municipal vehicles and retrofitting more efficient street lights, among others. The region has already budgeted $7.8 million for improvements in fleet and facilities, such as hybrid diesel-electric buses and the construction of LEED buildings. The plan also advocates an additional $8.8 million in capital costs over a nine-year period, but those costs have not yet been approved by regional council. According to Roewade, the payback on the total investment is approximately 10 to 12 years, mainly through savings in energy and fuel costs. “Municipalities have to serve the broad public benefit, and because we are spending taxpayers’ dollars, we have to do things in a cost effective way,” he said. “This shows responsibility while committing to high quality services.” The plan demonstrates the region’s “culture of sustainability,” says Mike Morrice, the executive director of Sustainable Waterloo Region. “This is community-based leadership,” he says. “Waterloo Region is collectively working toward a local solution to global climate change, and that’s leadership we can all be proud of.”Waterloo Region aims to cut greenhouse gases
May 9th, 2011
WATERLOO REGION — Waterloo Region’s technology sector and its environmental watchdog have officially endorsed regional council’s recommendation to bring light rail transit to the area. Communitech, which represents more than 700 local technology companies, and Sustainable Waterloo Region, an organization that helps businesses track and reduce their carbon footprint, both declared support for council’s rail plan in separate statements. “I’m really pleased that people are getting engaged and that we’re hearing from all of these organizations,” said Jim Wideman, chair of regional council’s planning and works committee. “It certainly will help in terms of coming to an ultimate decision. I’m glad that people are coming out and expressing their opinions on both sides.” Communitech conducted a month-long online survey with more than 570 of its members and found that about 90 per cent believe rail transit is “very or somewhat important to their company and co-workers.” Because of the survey results, the organization has backed council’s recommendation to bring trains from Conestoga Mall to Fairview Park mall, and rapid buses into Cambridge, to the tune of $818 million. Sustainable Waterloo Region has also declared support for this plan but noted its preference is a regionwide rail plan that would connect St. Jacobs to Cambridge. Various options are still being explored but council will make a final decision June 15. “A lot of people were saying this is something we need to do now, that we can’t put this off for another day,” said Iain Klugman, president and CEO of Communitech. “They’re looking at this and saying this is an important ingredient in the future of our community.” The survey also found that 70 per cent believe rail transit would benefit the region and more than 50 per cent said they would ride the rails. “From our perspective, this is another ingredient in trying to build the kind of competitive jurisdiction that will attract and retain the kind of talent we need to continue to grow our economy,” Klugman said. Sustainable Waterloo Region’s board endorses council’s rail plan but said not all of the 38 members of its regional carbon initiative — a program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade — support that specific option. “We feel it’s an opportunity to unite our region with a major infrastructure investment that is both in our best interest economically and environmentally,” said Mike Morrice, the organization’s executive director. “We think it’s important to take a leadership role and help move the dialogue ahead with respect to those points.” Morrice added that council’s plan would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 22,000 tons per year by 2031, which is the equivalent of taking 4,000 cars off the road every year. Wideman is encouraged by the continued interest in the debate. “We will never have consensus on this issue,” he said. “I’m not going to make my position clear, public or private, until the last of the public information meetings have been held.”
jbrown@therecord.com
October 15th, 2010
The municipal elections are less than a month away and mayoral candidates are debating issues as diverse as water fluoridation, light rail transit and amalgamation. While, these are important concerns with lasting implications, it’s just as important that there be a debate over broader considerations affecting our quality of life, including that of environmental sustainability.
Read More
Our Members
See the total impact of RCI members.