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Boost renewables, sell oil to U.S., says expert

Renewable guru Paul Gipe speaks on feed-in tariffs

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Alberta should create a feed-in tariff for renewable energy so it can sell more coal and oil to the U.S., says an energy guru.

Paul Gipe, the well-known American renewable energy advocate who led the successful campaign to introduce feed-in tariffs to Ontario, spoke to about 100 local residents at Grant MacEwan University Wednesday night. The talk was sponsored by the Pembina Institute and the Solar Energy Society of Alberta.

Alberta has some of the best solar and wind resources in Canada, Gipe said, but has hardly tapped any of it. “You have 50 to 75 per cent more solar radiation than Ontario … and you’re not using any of it.”

Albertans should develop their wind, solar, hydro and geothermal resources to free up coal and oil for sale on the international market, Gipe said. “Every tonne of coal you don’t burn, every million BTUs of natural gas you don’t burn, you can sell to us Yankees for a profit.”

The need for feed-in

Gipe is the author of many books on renewable energy and is promoting advanced feed-in tariffs across the continent. Ontarians who erect wind turbines or solar panels can now earn 13 to 80 cents per kilowatt-hour of energy produced under that province’s feed-in tariff system.

Advanced feed-in tariffs are policies that pay producers a premium for producing power from different renewable sources, Gipe said.

Canada and the U.S. are almost totally dependent on fossil fuels, Gipe said, and despite Alberta’s efforts, our fuel supply is running out. That puts Albertans at risk of higher electricity prices in the near future. “We’re taking a tremendous risk in the cost of electricity in the future by demanding that electricity be cheap today.”

Canada and the U.S. need about 120 times more renewable power than they have now if they want to replace fossil fuels, Gipe said. Germany, Portugal, Spain and Ontario all saw massive investments in renewable power only after they brought in feed-in tariffs. “If you want to do renewable energy, it’s your only choice.”

Feed-in tariffs act as a hedge against fossil fuel price spikes, Gipe said, and can save consumers money. France has seen its energy prices fall year after year despite having its tariff, and actually earned money when fossil fuel prices spiked in 2008. “It saved French rate-payers (5 million.” Germany has created about 300,000 jobs through renewable investment, he said.

It also encourages conservation. Germans pay about 30 cents of tariff per kilowatt-hour of power they use. “One of the things you see in Germany and Denmark is that they don’t leave the lights on.” You also see roof after roof covered with solar panels as people can make money off them.

Not popular in Alberta

Alberta has no plans to bring in a feed-in tariff, said Alberta Energy spokesperson Derek Cummings, because it would make power too costly for consumers. Albertans already plan to build so much wind power that the province has to upgrade its transmission network to accommodate it, he added.

Feed-in tariffs would definitely encourage more wind and solar in Alberta, said Leigh Bond, president of St. Albert’s Threshold Energies Corp., but the big power companies have little enthusiasm for them. “There are people around that don’t want them [solar panels and wind turbines] polluting their sight-lines,” he said, noting that Germany is already encountering resistance from such residents.

Ontario officials dismissed feed-in tariffs as nuts just four years ago, Gipe said. Now, they’re catching on across the continent, as well as in China, India and Bulgaria. “Where’s Canada? Where’s Alberta?”