Alberta is putting a booming renewable energy industry at risk and setting a double standard in the way it treats renewable and fossil fuel development, clean energy groups said today, after the province slapped a seven-month moratorium on new solar and wind projects over a megawatt in size. The decision could erode investor confidence and undermine the “Alberta advantage” in the province that accounted for 75% of the growth in Canada’s renewable energy sector last year, the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) warned in a release. The association is meeting with provincial politicians and regulators “with the aim of minimizing the duration of the moratorium and creating clarity on its consequences,” the release added. Other groups were sharper in their criticism “According to the Alberta Premier, massive tailings spillsthat endanger Indigenous communities don’t constitute an emergency—but the potential for expanding cost-effective and proven climate solutions at a time when Canada is burning somehow poses a threat,” added Climate Action Network-Canada Executive Director Caroline Brouillette. "Other Conservative premiers have recognized the vast opportunities and economic benefits of affordable renewable energy, and so have Alberta communities,” Brouillette said in an email. But Premier Danielle Smith “seems more interested in pursuing her own ideology than lowering energy costs for Albertans, no matter the lost job opportunities and the damage to investor confidence.” Binnu Jeyakumar, electricity director at the Calgary-based Pembina Institute, said the moratorium would put 91 projects worth C$25 billion at risk, during a summer when wildfires and smoke have made “the growing costs of climate change all too real for Albertans and Canadians.” The moratorium “creates uncertainty around future investments while adding unnecessary red tape to these projects,” Jeyakumar said in a release. “While other provinces with Conservative governments like Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario have created calls for new renewable investments, adding wind and solar to their grids to lower the costs of electricity for consumers, Alberta appears to be heading in the opposite direction.”            https://www.theenergymix.com/2023/08/03/alberta-slaps-6-month-moratorium-on-solar-and-wind-puts-booming-industry-at-risk/?utm_source=The+Energy+Mix&utm_campaign=881f537c61-TEM_RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_dc146fb5ca-881f537c61-509990701

Make the switch to a heat pump- how they work, different types, benefits, other factors to consider and in this article the rebates that are offered in British Columbia, Canada. However, there are similar rebate programs in other jurisdictions such as provinces in Canada, states in the US and of course in other global countries such as the EU. A heat pump is an energy-efficient alternative to other types of home heating systems, such as a natural gas furnace or electric baseboards. A heat pump provides both efficient heating and cooling to help keep your home comfortable year-round. There are several factors to consider......Benefits of heat pumps......How do heat pumps work?.......Types of heat pumps........Factors to consider when choosing a heat pump..........Rebates for heat pumps..........Using and maintaining your heat pumpBenefits of heat pumps......They provide heating and cooling all in one........They run on clean hydroelectricity so they'll reduce your household's greenhouse gas emissions if you switch from fossil fuel heating.......They're up to 300% more efficient than electric baseboard heaters........They're up to 50% more efficient for cooling compared to a typical window A/C unit.........They could be less expensive to operate than a natural gas furnace. Heat pump cost calculator. See how much you could save in home heating costs by switching from a natural gas furnace to an electric heat pump.

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Solar helps Texas carry energy load as heatwave puts power grid to test.  State has managed to avoid rolling blackouts amid three-digit temperatures thanks to its supply of solar power, experts say. As a deadly, record-breaking heatwave puts Texas’s grid to the test, renewable power sources are helping the state maintain energy reliability, contrary to some of the state’s lawmakers claims that clean energy is less reliable. Texas has for more than two weeks been blanketed by an oppressive heat dome, and federal forecasters say there is “no end in sight”. The sweltering temperatures have forced people to stay in their homes with their air conditioners cranked, causing energy demand to soartorecord levels. An atypically large number of the state’s ageing, run-down coal and gas-fired power plants have failed amid the spikes. That’s especially troubling because as the only state in the continental US with its own grid – a decision made to avoid federal regulation – Texas can access very little power from other states. But even amid three-digit temperatures, the state has still managed to avoid rolling blackouts this month. A key reason, energy analysts say, is the state’s supply of solar power, which has doubled since early 2022. “The additional solar that we’ve had, I think has likely been determinative in making a difference between outages and not having outages,” said Doug Lewin, president of the Austin-based renewable power consulting firm Stoic Energy. On hot, sunny, summer days, solar performs exceptionally well. During the afternoons, solar has accounted for upwards of 15% of the state’s energy supply. “The same sun that heats up buildings [and] triggers people to turn on their air conditioners, is the sun that can make electricity from solar panels,” said Joshua Rhodes, research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. “So during this high amount of heat, we’re also seeing a lot of electricity being produced by solar panels.”It’s a fact that clashes with the narrative pushed by some Texas lawmakers who insist on blaming renewable energy for the grid’s vulnerability to outages. “There is a group of elected officials,” said Lewin, “that routinely trash renewables.” Conservatives often point out that solar energy is intermittent because the sun does not shine at all hours of the day. Despite that fact, it’s proved quite productive in sunny Texas, said Lewin, who also writes the Texas Energy and Power Newsletter.....and..... Heat dome’s scorching temperatures in Texas are expected to expand across US        https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/28/texas-heatwave-power-grid-solar-energy?utm_term=649c20c33116e8390ba83eba4b3b1728&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUS&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUS_email    

Despite continuing growth in fossil fuel spending and record investment in coal, clean energy sources are becoming ever more dominant in a world that is expected to spend US$2.8 trillion on all forms of energy this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported last week.The shift in financing still isn’t fast enough or deep enough to hit a net-zero emissions target by mid-century, the agency warns. But days after the IEA released its World Energy Investment 2023 report, a U.S. bank analyst was asking a question that would previously have been unthinkable: whether privately-owned oil and gas companies will run short of investment dollars to develop new extraction projects.“Yes, there is a danger, or a risk at least, of a severely diminished ability to privately finance oil and gas projects,” Ed Morse, global head of commodities research at New York-based Citibank, told fossil newsletter Rigzone.

Morse’s assessment was more dire for the industry, more hopeful for a decarbonized future, than the IEA’s. But the Paris-based agency’s report, the latest in an annual series, shows clean energy spending outstripping fossil fuels for the fourth year in a row and growing 24% over the last two years, compared to 15% for oil, gas, and coal, with solar expected to surpassoil production investment for the first time.Days earlier, the IEA said new solar manufacturing announcements have reached a threshold that would deliver on a 2030 decarbonization target, though only one-quarter of those projects are fully committed. All told, the IEA expects to see $1.7 trillion invested this year in renewable energy, energy efficiency, grid modernization, electric vehicles, energy storage, and nuclear. Clean technologies are pulling away from fossil fuels,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.“This crowns solar as a true energy superpower. It is emerging as the biggest tool we have for rapid decarbonization of the entire economy,” added Dave Jones, head of data insights at the Ember energy think tank. “The irony remains that some of the sunniest places in the world have the lowest levels of solar investment.”But “while fossil fuel investment falls behind cleaner alternatives, it’s still set to reach the highest level since before the pandemic,” Bloomberg Green reports, with the IEA projecting a 6% increase this year. “That would have to start falling sharply this decade to be in line with the IEA’s scenario that would see the planet reach net-zero emissions by the middle of the century.”       https://www.theenergymix.com/2023/05/30/analyst-sees-oil-and-gas-running-short-of-cash-as-iea-releases-energy-investment-update/?utm_source=The+Energy+Mix&utm_campaign=cd06f351c7-TEM_RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_dc146fb5ca-cd06f351c7-509990701