Renewables : In The News

Jane Fonda among the 10,000 demonstrators at historical Toronto climate rally

Wednesday, July 08, 2015

Last weekend, more than 10,000 people marched for climate action in a Toronto rally that attracted the likes of Jane Fonda and David Suzuki. Its message was precedent-setting for one big reason, according to The Guardian: an emphasis on the notion that tackling climate change can make for a more fair and equitable society.

“I’m here because I think that the coalition that is represented in today’s march and rally, and not just today but ongoing in Canada — First Nations, labour unions, working people, students — this is the kind of coalition that will make the difference,” said Fonda.

Read the whole story here.
Source: The Guardian.

Community-backed solar roof goes online

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Toronto's first ever community-backed rooftop solar installation has begun generating clean and renewable energy. Known as the Goodmark Project, the 100 kW installation operates via a partnership between two of Canada's powerhouses: "Bullfrog Power – a 100% green energy provider; and SolarShare – who have installed 20 community-backed solar units in Ontario," an article that ran in PV Magazine reports.

"Community participation is the crucial difference between Goodmark and the typical Ontario renewable energy project," said SolarShare president, Mike Brigham, in the article. "Citizens who are eager to promote green energy but may not have the means or the rooftop to install their own projects can pool their resources and finance community projects, earning a financial return from project revenue."

Community-backed power is becoming more common and in a variety of ways. Earlier this year we told you about the Toronto Zoo's new community-backed biofuel plant that will begin converting animal waste into energy by next summer.

"Seeing the Bullfrog Power and SolarShare communities come together is what we are all about – supporting the development of new renewable energy projects that people can see in their communities," said Josephine Coombe, Bullfrog Power’s Vp for sales and marketing, in the article.

Read the full story here.

Original source: PV Magazine

Toronto startup offers underwater solution to energy storage woes

Smart Grid Technology Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Toronto-based startup Hyrdrostor could soon make Ontario's energy infrastructure significantly more efficient thanks to their innovative new energy storage technology—the underwater "accumulator." The accumulators or compressed air energy storage (CAES) units are giant underwater energy storage units that convert unused energy from the grid into compressed air for future usage. After a successful pilot project last summer, Hydrostor has recently partnered with Toronto Hydro to construct a 1MW, 4MWh demonstration facility about seven kilometers from Toronto's shore later this year.

"As Hydrostor president Cam Lewis explains, his company's first-of-its-kind system mechanically converts electricity from the grid to compressed air, which is captured, cooled and can be stored indefinitely in underwater accumulators. These accumulators are large, high-strength polyester bags that inflate with the air like a big balloon—no doubt producing quite an underwater show for salmon and lake inhabitants. When the grid needs the stored energy, the weight of the water pushes the air back to the surface where Hydrostor's expander/generator system sends it back."

"The idea, Lewis says, is to transmit excess electricity at night when demand is less and reverse it when demand is high. The technology offers 70 per cent round-trip efficiency, he says."

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original source Smart Grid Technology

Toronto start-up designs solar-powered hybrid aircraft

Toronto Star Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Toronto company Solar Ship has designed a brand new and potentially game-changing type of aircraft: one that can travel up to 1,000 kilometres and carry up to 1,000 kilograms of cargo, powered exclusively by sunlight. The "Solar Ship"—described by the Toronto Star as a hybrid of an airship and an airplane—is scheduled to take its first test flight in late 2012.

"Not quite an airship, not quite an airplane, the solar ship is a hybrid of both. The delta-shaped aircraft will be filled with helium, but slightly less than what’s required to lift it off the ground."

"Solar panels across the top of its body, likely backed up by a lithium-ion battery system, will supply enough electricity to drive it forward and into the air. In this way, the design achieves just the right balance of static lift (like a blimp) and aerodynamic lift (like a plane)."

"Jay Godsall, founder and chief executive of Solar Ship, says his aircraft will be able to go where no roads are built, where landing locations are too small or have been destroyed, and where existing airplanes and helicopters can’t reach on a single tank of fuel."

read full story here
original source Toronto Star