The “Gospel Of Green” And Seasons Greetings From Jennifer Stephenson In British Columbia, Canada

Hi,

My younger sister, Jennifer Stephenson, has her own business in British Columbia called Jenergy Technologies.

In an e-mail she writes:

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The best of the season to you and your families.

I just finished watching The Gospel of Green – Video | CBC News: the fifth estate and it encapsulated much of what I could have said in a year-end update letter to you. It’s a lot about what Canada could be doing to support climate change, and isn’t! If you haven’t seen it, watch it as soon as you can.

Then, take another action of some kind to create the world as you envision it should be.

British Columbia has developed support for solar hot water this year with it’s SolarBC | Energizing Solar Hot Water in British Columbia program. Businesses and institutions can get close to 40% off a system’s cost, and householders up to $1625.

However we are still void of any support for selling electricity back to
the grid, via solar, wind or water. Dr. Hermann Scheer from Germany says, in the Fifth Estate interview, that solar photovoltaics ARE the future of energy, period.

The market for folks living totally off grid in the Kootenays remains
stable. And ‘off grid’ no longer means living in the boonies, as the cost
of putting a few poles in to get grid access on your property has
escalated to the tens of thousands of dollars, easily justifying a solar
electric system with generator backup.

However the undertapped market of folks who would love to have energy independence — without being totally off grid — is on an explosive edge.

Over and over this year, in presentations I’ve made and trade show booths I’ve set up, I’ve heard and felt people vehemently express their desire to be in charge of their own energy. A year ago at our booth at the Rock Creek fair, people were generally vague and only mildly curious about what solar systems had to offer. This year, we were bombarded by people asking us pointedly, “How much do I need, and what will it cost?”

In October I went to Washington State to upgrade my photovoltaic education and to take a week-long course in micro hydro systems. People operate under a different paradigm there, largely because of sustained gov’t support. Putting a 5 killowatt solar electric system on your house to be net zero (by selling back to the grid all summer and using your credits in the winter), even at the cost of $50,000, is hardly a rare occurrence.

Householders get paid up to 54 cents/killowatt hour for what they sell to the grid! In Canada, the federal govt gives businesses $10 per gigajoule, which would add up to less than a $100 rebate on such a system. ????

I had the opportunity while teaching at the College of the Rockies this
summer to tour the 80 kilowatt micro hydro system at Fred Howe’s place northeast of Kimberly. Fred and his two sons sell control systems for backyard water turbines that are internationally reknowned. Their place demonstrates admirably how being energy independent can equal abundance. They have a year round outdoor heated swimming pool, hot tub, and provide power for 3 or 4 homes. When Len Howe was building his house, he put in radiant floor heating and built his own boilers for it. He started insulating his house and then stopped because it was getting too hot!

Renewable technology is getting simpler to install and easier to use.
Awareness of the basic building blocks of renewable systems is on the
rise. With Selkirk College’s Renewable Energy Certificate program maturing into it’s second year, we have an opportunity to create a strong hub of green innovation here in the Kootenays. Doesn’t that totally fit the Kootenay personality anyway? Paula Kiss’s opening of ‘The Building Tree’ in Nelson, and her instigation of the Cascadia Building Council, Green Drinks propogation and more prevalent, relevant, dinner party conversations are creating a foundation of ‘how to’ knowledge that strengthens our community. The future is now, and requires that we work together to experiment, and to share as we learn.

Keep in touch, and may many new ideas and opportunities excite you in the coming year!

Jen
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Jennifer Stephenson, MBA

Jenergy Technologies

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Cheers,

Fred