British Columbia clean energy

Canada is being called one of the best places in the world for innovations in clean energy technology. And British Columbia in particular is said to have huge potential for creating these sources of alternative energy.

Wind and solar power are two techniques whose full potential have yet to really be harnessed by Western Canada, though they are starting to make more of an appearance.

If you drive through southern Alberta especially you can see rows of wind turbines across several fields that are known as wind farms. There are even programs in which local farmers are paid money for letting a wind company set up turbines on their property.

But often a lot of the turbines aren't turning.

In Alberta, there is a cap on how much energy can be produced from alternative sources - meaning anything that isn't fossil fuels.

This cap was put in place by the Alberta Electric Systems Operator (AESO). It focuses mainly on wind power and has placed a limit on just how much we can create. It regulates that a threshold no higher than 900 megawatts of electricity can be created by wind turbines in the province. This was suggested by Suncor, a Calgary based energy company, which deals mostly in fossil fuels.

But if western Canada is capable of creating so much clean energy, why are there limitations placed on that production?

It is because there is still oil which makes more money for energy producing companies like Suncor. If they were to invest solely in alternative energies their own profits would decrease.

And much like how oil companies killed the electric car, they are keeping the production of clean energy sources down in order to keep their profits up.

Wind power is among the fastest growing non-fossil sources of energy in the world. And as concerns about a rising climate temperature due to carbon emissions becomes more of an issue for people, the demand for this type of energy will increase.

On March 27 people all over the world participated in Earth Hour by refraining from using electricity for an entire hour. And B.C. alone saw a one per cent drop in power usage during that single hour. And though this is hopeful, most people are quick to return to their high-energy use habits. Until people begin to address the issue of their own rising energy demands, these alternative energy sources simply won't be able to support those demands. Especially when they have limits placed on them.

Hopefully our oil-addicted nation will realize the potential of these sources as a very serious alternative to the fossil fuel industry. And hopefully people will realize that not all the lights in their home need to be turned on at the same time.