Episodes

Alberta students present Climate Leadership in Alberta Schools white paper to the ministers of education and environment in Alberta calling for climate change to be added to the curriculum and schools to become models of sustainability.  More…

There is plenty of support for this innovative (for Saskatchewan, anyways) energy project. More…

Renewable energy success story! Summerside PEI went from expensive diesel power generation to 46% wind by building a smart grid and using energy storage. More…

Bob Chelmick is a former CBC news anchor who built a solar cabin in the woods and started the groundbreaking radio series entitled The Road Home – solar powered radio! More…

A few oilsands workers were having lunch wondering what to do as oil prices plummetted and decided to form Iron and Earth and push for training in renewable energy for out of work oil workers.  More…

We visit PEI, home of the highest integration of wind power in North America. More…

This week, we visit the Northwest tip of Prince Edward Island to see the Wind Energy Institute of Canada.  More…

When people think Calgary, renewable energy doesn't usually come to mind. But dig a little deeper and the oil capital of Canada may surprise you. With a carbon tax looming, thanks to investments in renewable energy the city is in a great position to make bank. More…

This past March, students from around Alberta and beyond collaborated on a white paper that seeks to influence the future of climate change education in the province. More…

Securing investment in renewable energy is getting easier, but as the price comes down, new problems come up. We speak with an investment banker who explains how the whole thing works. More…

Moving from one of the dirtiest grids in the country to 50 per cent renewable is no small task. However, Sakatchewan's ambitions are matched by the quality of their renewable resource. More…

We visit the first certified passive house in Saskatchewan — ironic, because the first concept passive house ever was built in Saskatchewan in the 1970s. More…

This week, we visit a conference on energy efficiency that's looking to to change Alberta's current lack of program support for energy efficiency initiatives. More…

We check out a highly innovative rental suite that will change the way we look at a back alley. More…

We return to a familiar place, the Kinney Family Earthship, to see how it holds up in a Canadian prairie winter. More…

Join us for an illuminating look at some pesky solar myths! More…

This week, we visit Lethbridge Biogas, the largest aenerobic digestion facility in Alberta. More…

Blowing the smoke away, we delve into some pernicious myths about wind energy. More…

Peter Amerongen shows us how Habitat Studio uses insulation to reach their net-zero goals More…

Carl Lauren, owner of Tyee Custom Homes, wanted to encourage energy efficient design in construction, but the building code hamstrung his efforts. So he helped create a rebate system that gets around the bureaucracy! More…

We look over the trends that emerged from our stories of 2015 More…

We look at some of the news that defined the green energy revolution in 2015. More…

The European green capital for 2012, Vitoria-Gasteiz is small in size but big in ambition. More…

This week, Green Energy Futures explores the state of the green economy More…

Evansdale Community League goes solar and builds a more resiliant community in Edmonton, Alberta.  More…

This is the story of Bruce Nilles of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign worked with Dawn Farrell the CEO of TransAlta to accellerate the end of coal-fired electricity generation in Washington State. More…

This week we visit the largest solar farm in Western Canada on the Green Acres Hutterite colony. More…

Edmonton, the oil capital of Alberta, passed its energy transition strategy earlier this year. We talk to Mayor Don Iveson about what this northern city is doing to transition to clean energy.  More…

Randal Benson has trained more than 700 electricians across Canada to install solar systems. This week we go to solar school and talk to Benson and his students. More…

Kimberley B.C. installed the largest solar tracking solar PV system in western Canada and it's all part of the reinvention of a mining town as tourism City and developer of clean renewable energy.  More…

When Vancouver Mayor first ran for election he pledged to make his city the "greenest city in the world." Now Vancouver has upped the ante pledging to make the city 100 per cent renewable by 2050.  More…

Talk about light bulb moments, the grade 5 students at George Webster School in Toronto, Ontario are literally turning the lights on in TREC Education's Capture the Wind renewable education program. More…

You could call it Sustainability High - since 2002 students in the Sustainable Development Committee at Cochrane High School in Alberta have raised almost $150,000 and build more than half a dozen solar, energy efficiency and green projects around their school. More…

From super-cooled rocks to free transit, learn what cities across Canada and Europe are doing to be greener.  More…

In a repurposed auto parts factory on the edge of Tillsonburg, Ontario the transformation of the economy of Canada's most populous province is underway.  More…

Calgary's LRT system is one of the most successful electrified transport systems in North America both from a ridership perspective and a green energy perspective.  More…

Canada's latest batch of net-zero homes is being built in Guelph, Ontario. We head to the build site to check them out up close.  More…

Elon Musk's presentation on the Powerwall gave the energy storage business a billion dollars worth of free press. In Canada, Ontario is leading the way in energy storage deployment; we head there to learn more.  More…

Shipping container architecture has become more and more popular over the years. We check out an off-grid solar powered sea contaner cabin called the Octopod, located near Bobcaygeon, Ontario.  More…

Ontario's energy transition — shutting down coal and ramping up renewables — is the most successful greenhouse gas reduction project in Canada's history.  More…

Transportation is the average family's second-biggest household expense. We learn why buying a location efficient house might just save you a whole lot of money. More…

Why changing the way we make things could change everything.  More…

LEED is everywhere but is it worth the effort? We look into the effectiveness of this ubiquitious green building rating system. More…

More than 100 hundred episodes after our first episode on geothermal we circle back for a follow up.  More…

A new breed of startups is taking on a $750 billion dollar opportunity in industrial and commercial energy efficiency. We talk to two of them.  More…

Meet Judith Sayers, an incredible leader who got one of the first run-of-river hydro projects off the ground in B.C. that was majority owned by a First Nation.  More…

We dive into the science and research behind the effect of wind turbines on bats and birds.  More…

Net-zero houses are almost old news here at Green Energy Futures. But a net-zero commercial building? Now that got our attention.  More…

We can be guilty of using jargon here at Green Energy Futures. That's why this episode is dedicated to clearing up two of the most common used and misused terms that come up on a regular basis.  More…

Titan Clean Energy Projects is a Saskatchewan-based company making a very interesting product: biochar. We visit their plant and learn more about this amazing product.  More…

Feed-in tariffs have transformed renewable energy markets around the world. Now the mountain town of Banff is the first municipality in Canada to institute this important piece of renewable energy supporting policy.  More…

What happens when you sell unserviced lots for a dollar and get people to build green homes on the edge of a small Saskatchewan town? We find out.  More…

We check out one of the rarest electric vehicles in Canada and that spurs us to check on the state of the EV market here in Canada.  More…

Whitecourt, Alberta has a pulp mill and a saw mill. With all that wood comes wood waste. We look at how one company is turning this wood waste into something useful — green electricity.  More…

David Dodge  gets out of his comfort zone and jumps on a bike in the middle of an Edmonton winter. He learns about what kind of gear you need and how to stay warm for this fun, energy efficient mode of transportation. More…

Energy storage is getting ready to expand across the world. We head to Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan to see a finished project and understand more about this important next wave of energy technology.  More…

Germany, Europe's largest, most successful economy, is successfully and aggressively transitioning away from fossil fuels and nuclear. We debunk some of the myths that have sprung up around this incredible transition. More…

We head to one of the largest pulp mills in North America to check out how big biomass works up close.  More…

We look at the last year and explore our favourite stories of 2014.  More…

The best gifts for the green energy or energy efficiency nerd in your life.  More…

We spend a lot of money and burn a lot of carbon keeping our homes and buildings warm. Solar air heating is a simple, effective and accessible technology that could help Canada reduce its heating bills. More…

Learn how wind and solar energy are driving down prices for consumers in Canada's most fossil-fuel-friendly province.
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Welcome to Canada's first concentrated solar thermal energy plant in sunny Medicine Hat, Alberta. Discover how "The Gas City" is adding solar and wind to diversify it's electricity supply in a city endowed with rich fossil fuel resources.  More…

This week learn why one stock analyst thinks the future is bright for the solar industry.  More…

Echohaven is a different kind of suburban development. It preserves natural landscapes, mandates energy efficient homes and guarantees solar access.  More…

Chances are the electricity meter in your home is dumb as a sack of hammers. We head to Medicine Hat, Alberta, to find out what smart meters are, and we talk to the CEO of a company that makes smart meters even smarter.  More…

On their own a feedlot, an anaerobic digester and an ethanol plant might not make sense but combine them and you've got an integrated bio-refinery where each business feeds the other in a virtuous cycle. More…

Solar energy may only make up 0.03 per cent of Alberta’s electrical generation capacity. We make the case that solar is a growth opportunity in Canada's only deregulated electricity market.  More…

 This is the story of how the family of Green Energy Futures' editor Duncan Kinney built an Earthship in southern Alberta this summer. More…

Landmark Homes is planning to have all of their homes be net-zero by 2015. Learn how net-zero is transitioning from small custom home builders to large scale companies.  More…

In 10 years net-zero homes have gone from government pilot project to mass production. Shafraaz Kaba's near net-zero home is an excellent example of how we got there.  More…

We look at making energy efficient, infill homes that are beautiful and also at how the location of your home can have a dramatic effect on your energy footprint. More…

The first episode of our four-part series Chasing Net-Zero.  We dive into the history of net-zero homes and figure out you can build one of these comfortable, beautiful homes that also doubles as a mini-powerplant.  More…

This week we follow students at Prairie Waters school in Chestermere, Alberta to seek out and destroy energy vampires, increase energy literacy and save energy in the Classroom Energy Diet Challenge. More…

Learn how a seriously integrated ethanol plant has become a central hub for half a dozen other businesses using its byproducts of heat, CO₂, distillers grains and more!  More…

Taking a waste product and turning it into a resource has been a recurring theme on this show. This week learn how Pond Biofuels is taking raw smokestack gas from one of the developed world's most carbon intensive activities, cement manufacturing, and turning it into algae.  More…

The University of Calgary is home to Team Zeus and they're building an electric motorbike to race this summer.  More…

A passive solar greenhouse in Invermere B.C. is making people across the continent sit up and takes notice. It may sound ironic, but most greenhouses are not designed to harvest and retain the sun's energy.  More…

This week join us as head head to Globe 2014 into the Grizzly Den, where 36 different companies are pitching to investors, partners and customers. We feature three out of 30 that we thought you should know about.  More…

We head to Chatham, Ontario to explore a unique partnership between an ethanol plant and a greenhouse.  More…

With cheap natural gas and cheap solar PV is solar hot water still worth it? We explore how this technology works and in what applications it makes the most sense.  More…

Come take a tour of a super energy efficient laneway home in Vancouver and talk to a builder of these tiny, fun homes.  More…

We head to Starland County, Alberta where some very innovative farmers are working with Bullfrog Builds and the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre to build solar that pays for itself in 10-13 years.  More…

Learn how Harvest Power turns your rotten banana peels and other gross assorted food waste into energy and compost at their site in Richmond, BC.  More…

Check out 30 plus Edmonton area high school students as they build two-foot wind turbines and are judged on how much power the wind turbine produces in a wind tunnel, the design, documentation and wind energy knowledge. More…

Community scale renewable solar is cheap and requires very little maintenance. Learn how two communities in Alberta built successful community solar energy programs. More…

Cogeneration is a simple, effective idea - generate electricity from the waste heat from a boiler. We explore a 370 kilowatt unit powering and heating an office building in downtown Calgary.  More…

Passive solar energy and its running buddy thermal mass give you the opportunity to get a significant portion of your home's heat for free from the sun.  More…

Learn how the energy efficiency policy process works and how, if applied in Alberta, Canada's biggest carbon emitter could save a ton of money and get halfway to its 2020 greenhouse gas emission targets.

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Alberta has a carbon price and it's collected $380 million worth of cash for carbon reduction technology projects. Learn how they're spending that money. More…

We talk to a doctor who knows the true health costs of coal in Alberta as well as Alberta's new Associate Minister of Renewable Energy and Electricity on what she would replace coal with.  More…

The electric bike might be the single best urban transportation option out there. It's super green, gets you outside, has really low emissions and can get you up that big hill without breaking a sweat.  More…

The incandescent light bulb phase-out is akin to getting rid of leaded gas, CFCs or the Ford Pinto. It is unequivocally a good news story. Learn why this week at Green Energy Futures.  More…

We check out the latest and greatest energy storage technologies. More…

Here are our favourite stories of 2013.   More…

Get the green energy geek in your life the perfect gift this holiday season with our Green Energy Futures gift guide. From the best LED bulbs to super-fun electric bikes we've got five green gift ideas that really rock.  More…

Earth tubes are a simple, passive geothermal system. By drawing fresh air  through an earth tube you pre-heat or pre-cool your air depending on your needs.  More…

The price of solar has dropped one hundred times in the past 35 years and the more solar panels we make the cheaper they get. Learn how we got here and where that solar market is headed.  More…

We profile Kent Rathwell, the co-founder of Sun Country Highway a company installs electric charging stations and then drove a Tesla Roadster across Canada in the dead of winter just to prove it could be done. More…

Tom Rand is one of the managing partners of the MaRS Cleantech Fund. It's $30 million dollars of private money that's being invested in early stage Canadian cleantech startups. MaRS, which is based in Toronto. More…

We profile Morgan Solar, a Canadian startup that aims to develop a cheaper to produce and more efficient solar module.  More…

We talk to two Canadian startups working in the energy storage space, Temporal Power, a a company making flywheels and eCAMION doing community battery storage.  More…

We get behind the cute logo and figure out if Bullfrog Power is for real. More…

The rocket stove takes our fascination with fire and bends it 90 degrees. It's a hyper efficient wood stove that uses far less wood to get a far more effective result. More…

In Sherwood Park, Alberta just minutes from refinery row city hall, the famous Festival Place Theatre, condos, a high school and more buildings are all heated by biomass, wood to be exact. 

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Ever looked at the breakdown of your electricity bill with all of its transmission and distribution charges and wondered if there was a better way?

There is and it's called distributed generation. Learn about it this week at Green Energy Futures. More…

With the Edmonton Auto Show under our belt we went to check out the Future of Transpotation Symposium There we met the people who are driving and using the next generation of vehicles today.  More…

We check out the latest EVs, hybrids and even some super efficient gas vehicles. We talk to auto industry execs and check out their lineups and find out where they're headed. More…

Car2Go is car-sharing servince in several Canadian cities that makes it easy to get around. With services like these you might only need one car or maybe none at all.  More…

We explore the evolution from 45-person team, multi-million projects to cheaper and simpler net-zero homes. We talk to two net-zero pioneers to learn these amazing homes have improved over the years.  More…

We head to Camrose, Albert to Lawrence Grassi middle school, there they built a school which is 70 per cent efficient than a comparable building and was built exactly on budget. 

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Even mid-size cities like Nanaimo now feature thriving businesses, partnerships and projects that are turning various streams of waste into compost, electricity and carbon credits. More…

The T'Souke First Nation on Vancouver Island slashed 75 per cent of their energy use and also installed solar photovoltaic panels. It turns out it's a lot easier to go net-zero when you drastically cut your energy use.

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Landmark Homes in Edmonton isn't making manufactured homes, they're manufacturing homes in a state-of-the-art robot-filled factory. They build the components and then ship these energy efficient homes to the site. More…

The Cowichan Bio-Diesel Cooperative is the plucky little coop that could. In 2013 they're planning to produce 150,000 to 200,000 litres with a mix of corporate and retail clients.  More…

Reimagine or reskinning office buildings makes a lot of sense. You keep an existing building standing and you can save a lot of money on operating expenses. 

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We check out the Nest the sleekest, most popular programmable thermostat available.  More…

Landfill gas is a way to turn old dumps into green power recovery centres. We head to Edmonton's landfill gas recovery project to learn more.  More…

The new hot water style district heating system at UBC burns biomass as well as natural gas.  More…

Cow poop isn't typically thought of as a valuable resource. But with a process called anaerobic digestion that cow poop can be turned into electricity, heat, a near odourless fertilizer and and animal bedding.  More…

More than 45 run-of-river projects have popped up in BC in recent years. We explore the Fitzsimmons Creek run-of-river project, a 7.5 megawatt powerplant that puts out enough juice to meet the annual demand of the Whistler Blackcomb resort.  More…

The CIRS building on the UBC building might be the greenest building in Canada. 

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We head down into the sewer to explore a unique district heating scheme that heats over 2.7 million square feet in Vancouver. It's called sewage heat recovery and it's the only one of its kind in North America.  More…

This week we learn how Vancouver became a biking mecca and what lessons they have to offer other communities interested in reducing traffic by adding cyclists.  More…

Canadian clean technology companies have the potential to increase their market share from today’s $9 billion to $60 billion. What can be done to ensure that Canada grows in concert with this rapidly expanding industry? More…

Learn how willows can treat waste, increase biodiversity, ensure a healthier water supply and heat office buildings with biomass grown with waste.  More…

Join us as we dive into our archives and give you our favourite clips, photos and stories from 2012. We dig up stuff that didn't make it in and give a fun, behind the scenes look at Green Energy Futures.  More…

If Nova Scotia could get tidal energy to work right, it could power all of Nova Scotia. Discover the potential of tidal energy in the Minas Passage. More…

The main campus of Université Sainte-Anne just might be the greenest little campus in all of Canada.

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It might be a surprise to see Walmart featured here at Green Energy Futures but when they apply their over-achieving corporate culture to the topic of sustainability, amazing things can happen.  More…

Nova Scotia's community feed-in tariff is an intriguing policy and we went there to get the skinny just on how this new policy is working.  More…

We get the skinny on Alberta's burgeoning solar scene. We also talked to Diana McQueen, Alberta's minister for the environment and sustainable resource development.

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This week we talk to one of the most experienced efficiency experts out there and lay out the best tips and tricks on how to save the planet, your wallet or both. 

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Learn about a voluntary, market-based mechanism by an innovative little electricity retailer in Alberta that's supporting solar micro-generators.  More…

The humble pumpjack is a reciprocating pump that moves oil out of the ground. One Alberta company has figured out how to make green power from the downswing.  More…

Manufacturing solar photovoltaic modules can be a tricky game. Get a glimpse of the ups and downs of this growing industry. More…

Phil Dayson has worked for and owned and sold an electric-vehicle company. He drove an electric rebuild of a Geo Metro for eight years. So when he got his hands on a brand new bright red Chevy Volt he was a happy dude.  More…

SolarShare's greatest achievment? The solar bond, a $1000 bond that pays five per cent a year for five years.  More…

Heidi Eijgel is a horse farmer. She lives at the end of a gravel road surrounded by dozens of wind turbines - and that's the way she likes it. Hear her story as well as the story of her speaking tour of Ontario. More…

We check out two large wind projects in north-eastern BC.  More…

How did Ontario kick start the development of hundreds of renewable energy projects? You can pin it down to a simple policy – the Green Energy Act.  More…

North America's first urban wind turbine was an important rallying point. It brought together the people and resources necessary to spawn a green energy revolution in Canada's biggest province.

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Dawson Creek is in the heart of oil and gas country in the Northern Rockies. Yet, everywhere you look are signs of green energy. Learn how Dawson Creek is embracing renewable energy.  More…

Learn about LEDs, CFLs, a ten million light bulb and the most energy efficient light of all time. More…

Ground source heat pumps heat over 100,000 buildings in Canada. Discover how you can heat your home with just three degrees from the ground and some electricity. More…

Dan Balaban is the president of Greengate Power and a wind energy entrepreneur. He has gone from no experience in renewable energy to cutting deals for the largest wind farms in Canada in five years.

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Net-zero homes produce as much energy as they consume over a year. Cutting edge homebuilders have pushed the envelope and created monuments to efficiency, air-tightness and insulation.

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Learn how Enmax and their Generate Choice program is making solar energy accessible to a wide swath of Albertans. They handle the permitting, the interconnection, installation and maintenance.  More…

The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology launched its alternative energy program this year and it's popular! We speak to teachers and students of this new program. More…

We speak with Chris Turner, the author of The Geography of Hope and The Leap. He has has made a career out of writing about positive solutions to the climate, energy and environmental challenges we face.  More…

Medicine Hat's "Hat Smart" program aims to increase the use of renewables by 25 per cent by 2020. We speak with councillor Ted Clugston of the City of Medicine Hat for his take on the future of energy in his city. More…