ATHABASCA – How much money do electric vehicles (EVs) save? What is it like to drive them in a northern Alberta winter? How well does a heat pump work compared to other sustainable alternatives?
Steve Sulz and Science Outreach – Athabasca partnered up with the Athabasca Regional Renewable Energy Association (ARREA) to help answer those questions and more as part of a continued effort to provide better education about clean energy and help combat misinformation on the topic.
“It’s about the whole bigger picture; we live on a planet that’s being challenged right now and we aren’t doing a good job of addressing those challenges,” said Mike Gismondi, co-founder of ARREA. “It’s not going to be a technological solution. It’s about us changing how we think about our footprint and our relationship to the ecosystem.”
Sulz was the presenter for this event, which brought 30 attendees to Athabasca University, Science Outreach’s largest crowd in over a year. An engineer by trade, Sulz and his wife have been running a grid-connected solar farm since 2011 and use thermal energy for their greenhouse and barn.
“Our goal is to have a sustainable farm, and obviously, part of that is energy production,” said Sulz. “When we put in solar in 2011, it probably wasn’t at all economical when it first went in, but we saw that it worked, and it worked well. We expanded over time, and now we’re at 39 or 40 kilowatts total.”
The idea of a short-term hit for a long-term fiscal and eco-friendly gain was a common theme throughout Sulz’s talk. While green energy has become considerably more affordable since 2011, it requires some longer-term planning to maximize its value — Sulz pointed to EVs, particularly his Tesla, as one example.
“It saves about $2,500 a year in fuel if you don’t have solar. If you do it’s basically like you’re driving for free,” said Sulz. “A 550-watt panel would be roughly what you install today. Ten of those will fuel your car to go about 25,000 km a year. It’s a one-time investment and then you’re driving on sunshine.”
Besides the savings, Sulz said the cold-weather challenges were overstated. While cold weather conditions can make driving across the north a challenge — Sulz acknowledged that a lack of charging stations meant trips could require some more in-depth planning — he said the Tesla was the only vehicle they had that started during the -40 C cold snap this winter.
“If you’re doing a long trip, you need to plan out where you go, but generally, there’s been no issues at all,” he concluded.
If it’s easy, everyone would do it
ARREA co-sponsored the event to help get information out there, and to help people access information to help them make these changes. Programs like the town’s Clean Energy Innovation Program (CEIP) have been challenging for people to access, with more than one individual having issues finding a licensed auditor or tradesman. Gismondi said co-education was one driving factor for the group, who created a “how-to” pamphlet for attendees, accessible on Science Outreach’s website here.
“I hope to find people who think like us, to educate each other on how to do these things, how to solve these things, and to put a little bit of passion under the seats of the people we elect to continue to do it,” said Gismondi.
Harvey Scott, another ARREA member, said it was important to develop a knowledge base for the community, pointing out that, “they weren’t all Steve Sulz.”
“There’s a need for handy people, for skilled tradespeople to help put these things in,” said Scott. "I think what ARREA can do, for people who have the same interest in us, or who are concerned about the climate and climate prices, is help there. If you're concerned at all, we would love to have you."
