Winds of change are blowing strong - every little bit helps
Wind turbines in southern Alberta tap a pollution free renewable energy source; Photo:WCWC File Photo
It is amazing how much carbon dioxide is released when fossil fuels are used to produce energy. One kilogram of CO2 is prevented from entering the atmosphere for every kilowatt hour of energy saved. (A 100 watt light bulb lit for 10 hours consumes a kilowatt hour of energy.)
There is a federally sponsored program called Destination Conservation (DC) that encourages energy conservation, waste reduction and water conservation in schools across Canada. It has already produced tangible results. In one year ten Fort McMurray schools saved the equivalent amount of electricity needed to supply 110 average homes, enough natural gas to supply 50 homes and enough water for 65 homes for a whole year. Over three years, nine Red Deer schools saved over $142,000 worth of energy.
At Vision Quest in Pincher Creek, Alberta, wind turbines will soon be producing energy for nearby Calgarians. Each turbine being built at Vision Quest provides the energy needs for 200 families.
Wind is already being harnessed to produce power elsewhere on a large scale. Worldwide, the wind technology industry is growing by 25 percent annually and by the year 2000 this industry is expected to generate 3 billion dollars in annual revenues. In California wind power currently meets the energy needs of 5 million people.
Fossil fueled power plants belch greenhouse gasses; Photo:Elena Cecchetto
Today the dollar cost per kilowatt hour of converting wind energy is slightly higher than electrical generation by conventional fossil fuel (coal, oil and natural gas) fed power plants. But the real cost is cheaper because there is no polluted air causing health problems, no damage to habitat during extraction of the fuel and no added costly climate change effects due to more CO2 dumped into the atmosphere.
Last summer, a project to build 1,400 wind turbines could have created 2,500 jobs in Pincher Creek. But the Alberta government refused to support the project through a 5.4 cent per kilowatt subsidy. It would have saved over four million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
Elsewhere there are examples of change in corporate thinking. The CEO of British Petroleum dropped out of the Global Climate Coalition (a US group lobbying against curbing greenhouse gasses). He declared, "It would be unwise and potentially dangerous to ignore the mounting concern." British Petroleum is planning to increase its solar manufacturing to generate $1 billion in sales within a decade.
