Renewable Energy

SUMMARY: Pollution Probe Renewable Energy Primer

PRIMER ON THE TECHNOLOGIES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

Download the complete PDF document from the Pollution Probe web site.


Chapter 1: What is Renewable Energy?

The term renewable energy is not always synonymous with what is often called “green” energy. Typically, green energy refers to energy from renewable sources
that leave smaller environmental footprints than does conventional large-scale generation, including some renewable energy sources.

Why Renewable Energy and Why Now?
Canadians are taking a new interest in renewable energy for several reasons. First, electricity from renewable energy produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions, which are associated with a changing climate, than electricity produced from burning
fossil fuels. Similarly, renewable energy generally adds fewer other pollutants to the air, including the following:
• sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that form acid rain;
• particulate matter, which along with ground-level ozone forms smog on hot,
sunny summer days; and,
• mercury, which can be transformed in the environment to become highly toxic
to people and animals.
For more information on the harmful effects of acid rain, smog and mercury please look for The Acid Rain Primer, The Smog Primer and Mercury in the Environment:
A Primer at www.pollutionprobe.org/Publications/Index.htm.
Next, when Canadians use low-impact renewable energy, they help to protect the
land and water. When large-scale energy projects are developed, they have the
potential to drastically alter watersheds, migration routes, and wildlife and fish
habitats. And, although many utilities have made major improvements in their
practices and technologies, the effects on the environment can still be quite large.

Green Power
In most cases, the customers pay their regular electricity bills and support the use of green power to
generate electricity through an additional fee or separate programme (see The Consumer
Guide to Purchasing Green Power at www.pollutionprobe.org/Publications/Energy.htm).
Ontario Power Generation Inc. offers commercial, industrial and retail customers the opportunity to buy electricity created by green power under a programme called Evergreen. The power is generated using renewable energy resources, such as wind,
biomass and low-impact hydro. Oakville Hydro Energy Services Inc. is making the Evergreen programme available to Ontario residents through its sale of Green Light Pacts, which customers purchase in addition to paying their electricity bills. Each
full Green Light Pact ensures that 660 kilowatt-hours of Green Power are generated and distributed through the Ontario electricity grid. This is equivalent to approximately three weeks of electricity used by a typical home (see www.opg.com/envComm/E_greenPower.asp or www.oakvillehydro.com).

What is a Power Grid?
A power grid is a network that includes
the following:
• the power station where electricity
is generated;
• the transformers by the station that
boost the voltage or pressure of
electricity so that it can travel long
distances;
• the towers and high voltage wires that
carry electricity across the countryside;
• the sub-stations close to the city or
town, at which transformers reduce
the voltage of the electricity for safe
transmission on the distribution system
within the municipality; and,
• the poles and wires that carry electricity
through the city, town or village and
eventually to industrial parks, local
businesses and homes.

What are Watts?
The watt is a unit of power named after
James Watt (1736–1819), the Scottish
inventor, and is used to measure electricity.
Watts are very small units. A light bulb is
usually rated at 25, 40, 60 or 100 watts.
A kilowatt is 1,000 watts.
A kilowatt-hour is a unit of electrical energy,
equivalent to one kilowatt of power used
for one hour. It is equal to 1,000 watt-hours
— the energy needed to turn on ten 100-
watt light bulbs for one hour. A kilowatt-hour
is the unit for which consumers are
charged on electricity bills.

Most often, capacity levels of generating
facilities are listed in megawatts. To get
the theoretical amount of energy a
station is capable of producing in a year,
you take the capacity and multiply by the
number of hours in a year and then apply
a capacity factor (the amount of time the
plant would be producing at full potential).
A megawatt is one million watts.
Companies or utilities usually talk about
the amount of electricity a generating station
is capable of producing in megawatts. For
example, the Annapolis Tidal Generating
Station in Nova Scotia has a 20-megawatt
capacity, which means it can generate 20
megawatts of electrical power at any one
time.
A gigawatt is one billion watts or 1,000
megawatts.
A terawatt is one trillion watts or one million
megawatts.
According to Ontario Power Generation, the
average Ontario home uses about 11,600
kilowatt-hours each year, although new
homes use closer to 7,000 kilowatt-hours
a year.
In 1999, the total use of electricity in
Canada was 497,000,000,000 kilowatthours.
Utilities sometimes use kilowatt-hours
when they list the amount of electricity a
generating station is capable of producing
in one year.

Water
How Hydroelectric Plants Work
Large-capacity and small-capacity hydroelectric plants generate electricity in the same
way. The difference between the two lies in the scale of the projects and the amount
of electricity produced. Hydroelectric plants convert the potential energy of water
to electrical energy by creating a drop in the elevation of the water. Some hydroelectric
stations take advantage of a river’s natural drop in elevation (for example,
Ontario Power Generation’s Sir Adam Beck generating station located at Niagara
Falls). Many hydroelectric generating stations, however, use dams to raise water
levels upstream of the station and increase the drop in height to produce more
electricity and/or to store water and release it to produce electricity to match
changes in demand.

How Does a Water Turbine
Generate Electricity?
In very simple terms, electricity is
produced by spinning electro-magnets
inside a coil of wire in a generator to create
a flow of electrons. To keep the electromagnets
spinning, a hydroelectric station
uses falling water. Water goes through the
intake into a pipe that carries it down to
the turbine. The turbine is connected to a
generator. When the turbine is set in
motion, it causes the generator to rotate,
and electricity is produced.

The Technologies of Renewable Energy
The amount of electricity generated depends on the
vertical distance that the water falls and the water’s
flow rate. Flow is a measure of the volume of water
moving past a point during a certain amount of time,
usually a second. Not surprisingly, large-capacity
hydroelectric plants are often located where there is a
large fall and/or a large quantity of water, while smallcapacity hydroelectric plants are typically located where there is either a small fall or quantity of water.
• The water in the river or reservoir behind the
dam flows through an opening, usually called
an intake, and from there through a pipe called
a penstock.
• The water flows through the penstock under
pressure to its end, where there is a turbine.
• The force of the water turns the blades of the
turbine, which turn the shaft inside the turbine.
• The turbine shaft is connected to a generator,
which generates electricity.
• Once past the turbine, the water flows through
a pipe, called a draft tube, out of the generating
station into a channel, called the tailrace, and
back to the river.

Water
Large-capacity Hydroelectric Plants
In Canada, large-capacity hydroelectric plants are considered to be those with annual capacities of more than 20 to 25 megawatts. There are three common
types of large-capacity hydroelectric plants, with variations on each: dam and reservoir, run-of-the-river and pumped storage. Dam and reservoir. Many large-capacity hydroelectric generating stations use
a dam to increase the height of the water and a reservoir to store water backed up behind the dam. The reservoir gives utilities a reliable source of water, allowing them to adjust the amount of electricity generated to meet daily, weekly and seasonal
demand, and in some cases, demand in wet and dry years. When demand rises for a given utility, the utility responds by increasing the flow of water to the turbine.

Small-capacity Hydroelectric Plants
There are two types of small-capacity hydroelectric plants: those using weirs and dams, and run-of-the river facilities.

Weirs and dams. Most small-capacity hydroelectric plants rely on low dams, weirs or diversions, but do not cause substantial flooding. If a small-capacity hydroelectric plant does need to store water, it is usually a minor amount and is stored in
an existing upstream lake for a relatively short period of time.

Run-of-the-river. Run-of-the-river hydroelectric plants divert the water, typically at a small dam or weir, sending it through a canal or penstock to the
generating station and then back into the river without appreciably altering existing flow rates or water levels.
Considerations. As with large-capacity hydroelectric plants, small-capacity hydroelectric plants generate low-cost electricity very efficiently. However, if the
plant does not store water in a nearby lake or small reservoir, then the amount of energy that can be generated is not as reliable and will vary from day-to-day, seasonto-season, and year-to-year. For example, in dry years, the station will not generate
as much electricity as it does in wet years; during a day of heavy rain the plant will generate more electricity than during a day without rain. The cost of smallcapacity hydropower is typically higher than large-capacity hydropower because of
economies of scale.

The environmental impacts of small-capacity hydroelectric plants can be smaller than
those of their larger counterparts. Good design and planning can often mitigate the stresses a small-capacity hydroelectric plant places on the environment. For instance, a fish ladder can allow fish to swim around the station unharmed. It is possible,
however, that the cumulative effect on the environment of many small hydroelectric
plants on a given river system could be significant. Even small-capacity hydroelectric
plants cannot be looked at in isolation.

Tides
Every day, twice a day, the tides rise and fall, in some
places by only a metre or so, and in others, such as theBay of Fundy on Canada’s east coast, by as much as 6.3metres (21 feet). The earliest evidence that people harnessed the power and regularity of the tides to do work comes from the tenth century. Coastal inhabitants built dams across the openings of basins in such a way that the water could flow in when the tide came in, but not out when the tide fell. Instead, the stored water flowed through waterwheels or paddle wheels, which turned grindstones that ground grain into flour.
Today, about 40 areas in the world are considered suitable for tidal generating stations.

WIND
Societies have been using wind for power for more
than 2,000 years. Until the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, windmills were used to pump water and grind grain. In Ontario, some farmers used windmills to pump water until the early years of the 20th century. As with waves, wind as a source of
renewable energy for commercial electricity production did not come into its own until the early 1970s when the cost of oil and gas rose quickly, and people began looking at other sources of power.
The modern versions of windmills are called wind turbines. At the beginning of 2002, wind turbines produced about 449,000,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year in Canada, or enough to supply
about 56,000 homes.
There are two primary designs for wind turbines — horizontal and vertical axis turbines.

Horizontal Axis Turbine
The horizontal axis turbine looks more like a windmill with two, but more often three, rotor blades affixed like a propeller to the front of the tower at its top. In some turbines of this design, the rotor blades can lie flat and tip forward and backward (or “pitch”) to catch the wind. These are called variable pitch wind turbines.
In the horizontal axis wind turbine, the gearbox, brake and generator are housed in a casing or nacelle behind the rotor blades at the top of the tower. Most wind turbines in Canada are of this design. One of the largest turbines is located near Pickering, Ontario. The Pickering Wind Generating Station stands some 117 metres (30 storeys) high from the base to the blade tip and has a capacity of 1.8 megawatts.
It produces enough electricity to supply approximately 600 homes for a year.

Vertical Axis Turbine
The vertical axis turbine looks like an eggbeater. The rotor blades are attached at the top and close to the bottom of the tower and bulge out in the middle. The
gearbox and generator are housed in a protective structure at the tower’s base.
How the technology works — Despite the differences in appearance of the two turbine designs, the mechanics are similar. Typically, the tower is 30 or more metres high to catch the best winds, since they blow more constantly and smoothly and with more force at this height than they do at ground level.
• The wind passes over the rotor blades, causing them to turn.
• The shaft of the rotor may go into a gearbox, which can increase
the speed, or may go directly into the generator and create electricity.
• The harder the wind blows, the more energy that can be captured and the more electricity that can be generated. If the wind is too strong, then the
turbine will shut down by turning out of the wind and applying a braking mechanism that prevents the blades from turning too quickly and being
damaged.
Wind turbines today come in a range of sizes, from the ten-kilowatt turbine (Ed. less then ten-kilowatt turbines also exist, ours here at Natural Life Network is a 1 kilowatt unit), designed to provide power to a cottage, to huge turbines, such as the one at Pickering. Wind turbines generally produce electricity when winds blow at more than 13 kilometres an hour. Production increases until it hits a maximum power
at about 55 kilometres an hour. When winds blow at 90 kilometres an hour or more, most large wind turbines shut down for safety reasons.
Some wind turbines stand on their own. Others are grouped together at wind farms. At wind farms, wind turbines need to be spaced at five and a half times the
diameter of the rotor blades to prevent the turbulence or “wake” of one turbine from affecting (robbing) the flow of wind at another. There are several wind farms
in Canada.

Considerations. Wind is an intermittent source
of energy because it does not always blow at the
speed required to generate electricity. Wind turbines
generally capture an average of 15 to 40 per cent of
the total rated electricity generation capacity of the
wind turbine. In most cases the electricity created by
wind turbines, at least the utility grade turbines,
flows into the grid and becomes part of the overall
pool of electricity available for use.
As with electricity created by tides and waves, there
are no significant air pollution and greenhouse gas
emissions associated with this form of renewable
energy. There is some noise, however, created by the
rotor blades as they cut through the air. But slower
rotor speeds (15 to 25 rpm) and new designs and
materials have significantly reduced the noise level in
the past several years. Today, the noise level at 250
metres can be as low as 42 to 43 decibels, which is
less than the average background level of noise in city
residential areas. Similarly, results of studies show that
wind turbines have little effect on the population of
birds, in part because utilities and private companies
go to great lengths to make sure they do not site
wind farms in the middle of migratory flight paths,
and in part because in most areas the migratory flight
paths of birds are higher than the turbines or the
reach of the blades. The slower, constant blade speeds and solid tower designs that typify today’s wind turbines also serve to lessen the potential for bird impingement
impacts.

BIOMASS
For thousands of years, the world’s economy
has been based in part on what is today called biomass energy. Simply put, many societies burn wood and peat to warm their homes, cook their food and forge their utensils. Today, we also use biomass to generate electricity and to fuel vehicles. In Canada, biomass supplies 5.9 per cent of primary energy demand. Worldwide, biomass supplies about 15 per cent of the world’s energy and about 35 per
cent of the energy needs in developing countries.

From Biomass to Electricity and Heat
Biomass is a blanket term that refers to organic matter and includes plants, trees, residues from crops, such as corn stalks and wheat straw, organic waste from municipalities, and waste from forestry operations, including sawdust, timber slash and mill waste. There are several ways of turning biomass into heat and electricity, including direct combustion, anaerobic digestion, co-firing, pyrolysis and gasification.
When biomass is converted to energy it does not add more carbon dioxide to the air than it sequestered when it was growing. In other words, energy from biomass is considered greenhouse gas neutral.
Direct combustion. The simplest way of generating energy from biomass is to burn it. This is called direct combustion. Any organic material that is dry enough
can be burned. The heat is used to boil water to produce steam, which turns a turbine attached to a generator to create electricity. In some instances, the heat from the process is also diverted to heat buildings and water.
Biomass as Fuel
Ethanol. When Henry Ford made the Model T, drivers fuelled up with ethanol.
Later gasoline became the fuel of choice, but today drivers are looking again at
ethanol. More than 130 million litres of grain-based fuel ethanol is made in Canada
each year. Right now, ethanol is used as an additive, usually mixed with gasoline in
a blend of ten per cent ethanol and 90 per cent gasoline. This is called E10.
Drivers can use it in recent model cars without modifying the engines and can buy it
at more than 1,000 filling stations in Canada.

Most of the ethanol made today is the result of a fermentation process using corn, grains, potatoes, sugar beets or sugar cane.
• In the process, wheat or corn is ground in a hammermill to expose the starch.
• The ground grain is mixed with water and briefly cooked.
• Enzymes are added to convert the starch to sugar using a chemical reaction called hydrolysis.
• Yeast is added to ferment the sugars to ethanol.
• The ethanol is separated from the mixture by distilling it.
• The water is removed from the mixture by dehydrating it.

Concerns have been expressed that to ensure a constant supply of raw material to
produce ethanol a company might buy up vast tracts of land to grow crops needed as feedstock. This may jeopardize an area’s biodiversity as these tracts of land are devoted to one crop. There are also concerns that crops once used to feed people
may be diverted to industry and that soil quality may deteriorate because parts of plants or trees once left behind to nourish the soil will now be used as raw materials in bio-products. These, and other, concerns are valid factors to consider when expanding ethanol production.
In conclusion, if biomass resources are managed wisely and resulting combustion emissions are properly controlled, biomass has the potential to provide significant amounts of energy more cleanly and with much lower greenhouse gas emissions
than non-renewable fossil fuels, such as coal and oil. The direct combustion of biomass, however, can result in air emissions of concern. As with any energy
generation technology, all environmental aspects must be considered before final decisions are taken.

THE SUN
The sun is a renewable source of energy that is
plentiful and environmentally friendly. Today, we harness the energy of the sun to warm houses, heat water and generate electricity using three different methods or technologies: passive solar energy, active
solar energy and photovoltaic energy.

Passive Solar Energy
The term passive refers to the techniques used to capture the energy. These techniques rely on the design of buildings and the types of materials used to construct them, rather than on mechanical equipment. Passive solar design is not new. One hundred years ago, families painted tanks black and placed them in sunny areas to heat water for the household. The black surfaces absorbed the heat, which was transferred through the metal of the tanks to the water. This method of heating water is still used in warm countries, and in Canada during the summer at cottages and campgrounds, often with a back-up water heater.
Today, passive solar design uses the basic elements of a building — the walls, roof and windows — to control the amount of the sun’s energy that is absorbed or lost.
For instance, in Canada in the winter, a window that faces south or southwest captures the sun’s energy, in the form of heat, reasonably efficiently. Windowpanes
allow the sun’s energy to come through. Well-insulated windowpanes keep the energy inside in the form of heat. Heavy mass materials, such as stone or quarry tiles in the floor and double layers of gypsum on the walls, absorb the heat and keep the room warm, but prevent it from becoming unbearably hot during the day. They then radiate the heat back out when the sun has set.
Source: www.solarenergysociety.ca

Passive solar design also helps to keep a house cool in the summer. For example, painting a house white or a light colour reflects the sunlight. Long overhangs on a roof, as well as shutters and awnings on windows, help to block the sun’s rays, as do leafy trees and tall shrubs, which also help to keep a house warm in the winter by acting as windbreaks.

Daylighting is a relatively new term that refers to
using the day’s light to light a house or office building
as much as possible. This form of passive solar design
places windows to take advantage of natural light,
but does not expose them to the afternoon sun in the
summer or the prevailing winds in the winter.

Active Solar Energy
Active solar energy systems use solar collectors to
capture the sun’s energy and to generate electricity to
power pumps and fans that distribute heated air and
water. In Canada, the most widely used technologies
heat air and water for use in houses, offices, factories
and apartment buildings.

Solar water heating. One method of heating
water uses glazed or unglazed collectors.
• The collector includes a black absorber that
absorbs the radiation from the sun. The sun’s
energy warms a heat-transfer liquid that flows
through a tube, or tubes, on the collector. In
glazed collectors, the absorber and tubes are
placed between a glazing, often glass, and an
insulated panel. This type of collector is used
to heat water when its temperature must be in
Solariums
Solariums are glass-enclosed rooms that
can be added onto houses or built into
them during construction. Basically, the
solarium is a passive solar collector that
homeowners can use, at least in the
morning on a hot summer’s day. The sun’s
radiation in the solarium heats the air,
which is either stored and circulated
through the rest of the house in the
evening or, in the winter, continuously
circulated through the house by convection
currents or forced ventilation.

Photovoltaic Energy
The photovoltaic process turns the radiant energy of
the sun into direct current electrical energy. The French physicist Edmond Becquerel (the father of Antoine Henri Becquerel, who is known for his discovery of radioactivity) described the effect in 1839, but practical photovoltaic cells did not come onto the market until the mid- to late-1950s.

Facts about Solar Electricity
• Solar panels are becoming reliable means of generating electricity and are designed to work in most hostile and/or remote locations.
• Solar panels can provide enough electricity to power lights, water pumps, satellite receivers, stereos,
vacuums, washers, refrigerators, microwaves, computers, fax machines, power tools and more.
• Solar power is most effective when used in conjunction with energy conservation techniques, energyefficient appliances and other sources of renewable energy.
• Initially solar panels require a high investment, but will pay for themselves in cost savings over time.

Photovoltaic cell. Photovoltaic or solar cells are
small semiconductor devices. They are usually ten
centimetres by ten centimetres in dimension and are
often made of silicon. As long as the sun shines on a
photovoltaic cell, it produces a small flow of electricity — about 0.5 volts. To produce electricity in useful amounts, the cells are usually grouped together in panels. An array of panels consists of single panels linked together.
There are three other interesting facts related to photovoltaic cells. First, they only work when the sun
shines, so some photovoltaic systems include batteries
that store power so it can be used at night or on
cloudy days. Second, photovoltaic cells produce direct current electricity. Most electric lights, appliances and computers run on alternating current electricity, so photovoltaic systems often include a device called an inverter to convert direct current to alternating current electricity. Third, photovoltaic cells are not very efficient. They convert only 12 to 15 per cent of the sun’s light into electricity.

The Solar Industry in Canada
• There are currently 110 photovoltaic
solar systems in Canada, representing
352 kilowatts of power from solar
electricity.
• There was a 12 per cent growth in solar energy in 2002.
The Solar Industry Worldwide
• Total installed capacity of grid connected photovoltaic systems was 669 megawatts at the end of 2001.
• The solar industry grew 49 per cent in 2001 — with an additional 220 megawatts of power being added.
• Every year, 25,000 solar photovoltaic homes are being added to Japan’s electricity grid.

In Canada, there is a slowly growing interest in
integrating photovoltaic arrays in the windows, roofs
and walls of houses and office buildings. This use of
photovoltaic energy is called building-integrated
photovoltaics. These systems can be stand-alone, only providing power to the house or building, or can be connected to the electricity grid. Although these systems are new to Canada, some companies have integrated them into their building designs.
In British Columbia, BC Hydro and the British
Columbia Institute of Technology are working
together to demonstrate the use of building-integrated
photovoltaic panels as a building material and a source of electricity at two sites on the Institute’s campus in Burnaby. The first site is the Technology Centre building where ten vertical photovoltaic panels that can generate one kilowatt of peak power have been installed. Another set of panels has been installed on the Technology Place building. These panels are capable of producing four kilowatts of peak power and are used to light the building.

Sizing a Photovoltaic System for the Home or Cottage
To work out the size of the photovoltaic system you need for your home or cottage, multiply the watts required by your appliances or electrical devices by the number of hours you expect to have them
on. For example, a 100-watt light bulb that is left on for ten hours a day uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Do that for every appliance in the house or cottage and add up the results. The photovoltaic
system should supply all the kilowatt-hours you expect to use, plus more if you are planning to buy new appliances. (Ed. If you are connected to the electricity grid you can start with a smaller system and work up to a largers system that meets all of your electricity requirements.)

Considerations. Photovoltaic panels and arrays do not produce emissions when they create electricity and need only the energy from the sun to power them.
In remote areas of the county, photovoltaic panels are a cost-effective source of power that save governments and companies the expense of flying in batteries or diesel fuel for generators. Although there is a misperception that Canada does not receive enough sunlight to generate electricity from photovoltaic panels, they are catching on as a useful source of power in schools, hospitals, government offices and other buildings. Photovoltaic cells are often used in conjunction with other sources of power. Even though there have been relatively high costs involved in setting up photovoltaic panels, prices for the equipment are dropping, and home and building owners often recover their investments over the years in savings on electricity bills.

Heating and Cooling Using Heat Pumps
The warmth of the Earth, groundwater and water in lakes can be used to heat the air and water in buildings. Systems that do this are sometimes referred to as earth energy systems. There are closed-loop systems and open-loop systems. Both systems use pipes and heat pumps. Closed-loop systems usually use a heat transfer liquid that circulates continually through the loops of pipe. In closed-loop systems, the
pipes are laid either horizontally or vertically (e.g., straight down for 30 to 100 metres). Open-loop systems are often used to draw on the heat in water from a lake or aquifer. These systems are called open because the water, once used, leaves the system and is piped into a discharge well.
Closed-loop system using pipes underground. The system is called closed because the liquid that absorbs the Earth’s heat stays within the system.

Heat pump — The warmed heat transfer fluid returns to the building where a heat pump transfers the heat from the fluid to air or water.
Compressor — The compressor warms the air or water further.
Ducts and radiators — The warm air or water is circulated through ducts (if air) or
radiators (if water).
Open-loop system using pipes underground or in the water.
An open-loop system works because the water in a lake, pond or deep well changes
temperature more slowly than the air above it.

Considerations. Earth energy systems that
transfer heat from areas close to the Earth’s surface to heat air and water do not produce harmful emissions and are relatively inexpensive to operate, depending on how the electricity used to run them is generated. Further, geothermal energy is a constant, rather than intermittent, form of energy. At present, the capital costs of installing an earth energy system can be higher than installing a furnace and central air conditioning system using traditional energy sources. There are, however, more than 30,000 Earth energy systems in Canada today, and, as more are installed, the costs will come down.

CONCLUDING STATEMENT
This educational primer on renewable energy
technologies has been produced to promote greater public understanding of the potential for shifting Canada’s energy generation sources to cleaner and less greenhouse gas-intensive technologies.
The primer can also be read in conjunction with our complementary primers on smog, acid rain, climate change and mercury, as well as with our green power research reports (including our guide for
consumers on purchasing green power).
Pollution Probe is dedicated to ensuring that governments and industry implement policies and programmes that lead to a cleaner and safer environment. The support of an informed and active
public is essential to accomplish this mission. The primer series is an important part of Pollution Probe’s public education and outreach programme, and we urge all readers of this primer to support the
increased use of renewable energy in Canada.

Chapter 1 — What is Renewable
Energy?
Canadian Wind Energy Association —
www.canwea.ca/QuickFacts.html
Friends of the Earth: The Green Electricity
Buyers’ Guide — www.foecanada.org/greenenergy/
ge_buyersguide_home.htm
International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives — www.iclei.org/efacts
Nova Scotia Power — www.nspower.ca/AboutUs/
OurBusiness/PowerProduction
Ontario Power Generation —www.opgdirect.com;
www.opgdirect.com/content/knowledge/glossary.asp;
www.opg.com/healeyfalls/e_greenpower_renewable.
asp
Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development
— www.pembina.org
Pollution Probe —
www.pollutionprobe.org/Publications/Index.htm
Re-energy.ca: A Renewable Energy Project Kit —
www.re-energy.ca
Toronto Hydro Corporation —www.torontohydro.
com/energyservices/index.cfm
Chapter Two — Water
HYDROELECTRIC POWER
Australian Co-operative Research Centre for
Renewable Energy Ltd. — http://acre.murdoch.
edu.au/acre/refiles/hydro/index.html
Australian Greenhouse Office —
www.greenhouse.gov.au/renewable/technologies/
hydro/index.html
BC Hydro — www.bchydro.com/environment/
greenpower/greenpower1751.html
International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives — www.iclei.org/efacts/hydroele.htm
Natural Resources Canada: Canadian
Renewable Energy Network —
www.canren.gc.ca/hydro/index.asp
REFERENCES (all websites were accessed for verification on July 16, 2003)
References 77
Niagara Falls: History of Power —
www.iaw.com/~falls/power.html
Ontario Power Generation —
www.opg.com/ops/H_how.asp
Ontario Waterpower Association —
www.owa.ca
US Department of Energy: Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy Network —
http://hydropower.inel.gov
US Geological Service: Water Science for
Schools —
wwwga.usgs.gov/edu/hyhowworks.html
TIDAL POWER
Annapolis Basin — www.annapolisbasin.com
Australian Co-operative Research Centre for
Renewable Energy Ltd. — http://acre.murdoch.
edu.au/acre/refiles/tidal/index.html
Australian Greenhouse Office — www.greenhouse.
gov.au/renewable/technologies/ocean/tidal.html
Fujita Research — www.fujitaresearch.com
International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives — www.iclei.org/efacts/tidal.htm
Nova Scotia Power — www.nspower.ca/AboutUs/
OurBusiness/PowerProduction
The SMEC Group — www.smec.com.au/
development/quantum/power_generation.htm
Tidal Electric Ltd. — www.tidalelectric.com
University of Wisconsin-Madison:
Department of Geology and Geophysics —
www.geology.wisc.edu/~pbrown/g410/tidal/tidal.
html
West Nova Eco Site —
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/western/tidal.html
WAVE POWER
Atlas Project: European Network of Energy
Agencies: European Commission —
http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy_transport/atlas/
htmlu/wavint2.html
Australian Co-operative Research Centre for
Renewable Energy Ltd. — http://acre.murdoch.
edu.au/acre/refiles/wave/index.html
Australian Greenhouse Office —
www.greenhouse.gov.au/renewable/technologies/
hydro/index.html
78 The Technologies of Renewable Energy
BC Hydro — www.bchydro.com/environment/
greenpower/greenpower1767.html
Boyle, G. 1996. Renewable Energy: Power for a
Sustainable Future. Toronto: Open University.
Fujita Research — www.fujitaresearch.com
International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives — www.iclei.org/efacts/ocean.htm
Chapter Three — Wind
Atlantic Wind Test Site —
www.awts.pe.ca/index. htm
Axor Group Inc. — www.axor.com/ancien/SITEANG/
PAGE5C.HTM
BC Hydro —
www.bchydro.com/environment
Canadian Renewable Energy Network —
www.canren.gc.ca/wind/index.asp
Canadian Wind Energy Association —
www.canwea.ca
International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives — www.iclei.org/efacts/wind.htm
Nova Scotia Power —
www.nspower.ca/GreenPower/index.shtml
Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy.
1990. Renewable Energy Technology Evolution
Rationales. Washington: US Department of Energy.
Ontario Power Generation —
www.opg.com/envComm/E_greenPower.asp
Toronto Hydro Corporation — www.toronto
hydro.com/energyservices/index.cfm
Toronto Renewable Energy Co-op —
www.windshare.ca
Vision Quest Windelectric Inc. —
www.greenenergy.com
Chapter Four — Biomass
BIOMASS — GENERAL
Alternative Energy Institute, Inc. — www.
altenergy.org/2/renewables/biomass/biomass.html
American Biomass Association —
www.biomass.org
Australian Greenhouse Office — www.greenhouse.
gov.au/renewable/technologies/biomass/index. html
References 79
Biomass Energy Research Association —
www.bera1.org
Canadian Renewable Energy Network —
www.canren.gc.ca/bio/index.asp
International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives — www.iclei.org/efacts/biomass.htm
BIOMASS — COMBUSTION FOR ELECTRICITY
AND HEATING
Canmet Energy Technology Centre —
www.nrcan.gc.ca/es/etb/index_e.html;
www.nrcan.gc.ca/es/etb/cetc/pdfs/charlottetown_
district_heating_system_e.pdf
Federation of Canadian Municipalities —
www.fcm.ca/scep/case_studies/energy/energy_index.
htm
Independent Power Producers’ Society of
Ontario —www.newenergy.org/biomass_info.html;
www.newenergy.org/co-generation.html
Oujé-Bougoumou —
www.ouje.ca/innov/innov2.htm
Western Regional Biomass Energy Program —
www.westbioenergy.org/lessons/les12.htm
BIOMASS — ANAEROBIC DIGESTION FOR
ELECTRICITY
Atlas Project: European Network of Energy
Agencies: European Commission —
http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy_transport/atlas/
htmlu/ad.html
CCI Newmarket Plant —
www.canadacomposting.com/newmarketplant.htm
Michigan Biomass Energy Program —
http://michiganbioenergy.org/areas/ad.htm
Ontario Power Generation —
www.opgdirect.com/content/secure/serving_needs
/greenpower/greenmap.asp
Toronto Hydro Corporation —
www.torontohydro.com/energyservices/index.cfm
BIOMASS — FUEL (ETHANOL AND BIO-DIESEL)
Canada News Wire (Toronto Hydro
Corporation) —www.canadanewswire.com/
releases/October2001/25/c0331.html
Canadian Renewable Energy Network —
www.canren.gc.ca/bio/index.asp
Canadian Renewable Fuels Association —
www.greenfuels.org
Commercial Alcohols Inc. — www.comalc.com
80 The Technologies of Renewable Energy
Chapter Five — Sun
PASSIVE SOLAR ENERGY
Canadian Renewable Energy Network —
www.canren.gc.ca/solar/index.asp
Canadian Solar Industries Association —
www.cansia.ca
International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives — www.iclei.org/efacts/passive.htm
Solar Energy Society of Canada Inc. —
www.solarenergysociety.ca/passive.htm
ACTIVE SOLAR ENERGY
Australian Greenhouse Office —
www.greenhouse.gov.au/renewable/technologies/
solar/lowtemp.html;
www.greenhouse.gov.au/renewable/technologies/
solar/hitemp.html
Canadian Renewable Energy Network —
www.canren.gc.ca/solar/index.asp
Government of Alberta — www3.gov.ab.ca/env
Solar Energy Society of Canada —
www.solarenergysociety.ca/active.htm
PHOTOVOLTAICS
Australian Greenhouse Office —
www.greenhouse.gov.au/renewable/technologies/
hydro/index.html
BC Hydro — www.bchydro.com/business/
investigate/investigate977.html
Canadian Renewable Energy Network —
www.canren.gc.ca/solar/index.asp
CANMET Energy Technology Centre — http://
cedrl.mets.nrcan.gc.ca/e/411_pvworks_e.html
International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives — www.iclei.org/efacts/photovol.htm
Solar Energy Society of Canada —
www.solarenergysociety.ca/photovoltaic.htm
Chapter Six — Earth
Canadian Geothermal Energy Association —
www.geothermal.ca
Canadian Renewable Energy Network —
www.canren.gc.ca/earth/index.asp
References 81
Earth Energy Society of Canada —
www.earthenergy.ca/tech.html
Enwave District Energy Limited —
www.enwave.com/enwave/technology.asp
International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives — www.iclei.org/efacts/geotherm.htm
International Geothermal Association —
http://iga.igg.cnr.it/index.php
Natural Resources Canada: Catalogue of
Canadian Volcanoes — www.nrcan.gc.ca/gsc/
pacific/vancouver/volcanoes/index_e.html
Natural Resources Canada: Mount Meager —
www.nrcan.gc.ca/gsc/pacific/vancouver/volcanoes/
catalogue/16_2_cata_e.php
North Pacific GeoPower Corp. —
www.npgeopower.com
[88] The Technologies of Renewable Energy
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