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Enabling Increased Intermittent Green Generation via wind energy storage
Today wind power meets less than 5 per cent of Alberta’s power needs. One barrier to adding significant new wind and solar sources to our electricity grid is storage. Wind and solar power is intermittent — turbines and solar panels only produce power when the wind is blowing and the sun is shining. That poses…
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Improved construction of roads and pipelines to minimize impact on peatland greenhouse gas emissions
ERA often supports projects that help us to find a better way forward. That’s certainly the case with this project, one that may change the way we build roads and pipelines through peatlands. Northern peatlands form natural CO2 reduction systems known as carbon sinks. As vegetation and other life forms die, the bog absorbs them,…
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Biological Plant Inoculants to Increase Carbon Sequestration in Alberta’s Agriculture and Forestry Sectors
Soil fungi help the plants that grow around them to access the nutrients and water they need for optimal growth and development. Where soils have been degraded due to forest fire or heavy agricultural production, for example, populations of soil fungi are low. As a result, plant growth can be severely impaired. Mikro-Tek has developed…
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Technologies for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Providing Offset Options for the Beef and Dairy Industries
Alberta’s beef and dairy herds make a significant contribution to provincial GHG emissions. Feed additives could provide a good alternative to address the issue while we work towards making longer term changes at the genetic level. Feed additives that reduce an animal’s intestinal emissions are attractive because they are simple to implement and require only…
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A Matter of Timing and Source: Enhanced Efficiency Nitrogen Fertilizers and Products to Reduce Nitrous Oxide Emissions in the Prairie Provinces
It’s no secret that Alberta’s cropping systems require fertilizer to optimize yields and economic returns. But synthetic nitrogen fertilizers are a source of nitrous oxide — a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Farmers typically apply fertilizer at the end of growing season and may over apply fertilizer to compensate for fertilizer…
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Biocovers for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation from Landfills
Many Alberta municipalities are working toward solutions to address challenges associated with landfills. This project investigated the effectiveness of a solution proposed by TetraTech, that intended to reduce GHG emissions by taking a new approach to landfill covers. This project demonstrated the effectiveness of Evapotranspirative-Landfill Biocover (ETLBC) technology in Alberta, which is a hybrid of…
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Tree Species Adaptation Risk Management
ERA provided $3 million to the Tree Species Adaptation Risk Management Project. The climate change adaptation project replicated climate variations through strategic plantings at test sites of species from other regions of the province (for example, planting northern species in southern Alberta). This knowledge is crucial to the province’s forest industry as well as the…
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Deploying an Advanced Analytics Platform to Quantify Livestock Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions and Monitor Reduction Strategies at Individual Animal and Whole Operation Scale
Alberta has one of the largest beef herds in the world. The production of beef and dairy contributes to Alberta’s overall GHG emissions, specifically methane, which is released from manure and from the animals as a natural part of their digestion. Reducing GHG emissions through selecting the most efficient cattle offers an opportunity to reduce…
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South Saskatchewan River Basin (SSRB)
With continuing population and economic growth comes a demand not only for more water but also for improved environmental management. This initiative assisted communities in adapting to existing and future climate variability, while identifying opportunities for environmental improvement and economic growth. It also explored improvements in water storage and infrastructure, as well as the timing…
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10 MW Enbridge Sun Simba Power Plant – Alberta Solar One
Morgan Solar has partnered with Enbridge to build a 10 megawatt flagship utility-scale solar power plant. The project will use Morgan Solar’s revolutionary high efficiency Sun Simba CPV modules mounted on Savanna dual-axis trackers. Located in Southeast Alberta, the project will take advantage of the best solar resource in the country to produce clean energy…
