Energy

In the energy sector, ETV Canada is seeking to foster the development and dissemination of knowledge related to the identification and verification of environmentally sound energy technologies and conservation practices. Comprehensive performance benchmarking and verification platform can assist decision-makers in:

• Determining which energy efficiency options are most appropriate in meeting their needs
• Demonstrating effective implementation of appropriate energy applications
• Integrating renewable and decentralized energy options with conventional energy supply
• Optimizing the intrinsic strengths of existing energy infrastructure
• Ensuring energy system security, resiliency and reliability
• Measuring, tracking and getting credit for reduced energy use

This builds on the proven ETV Process, recognizing its flexibility both as a market instrument to strengthen the commercialization process and as a support mechanism for helping to solve specific energy and environmental problems. The potential benefits are two-fold – first, the effective application of demand-side management technologies and practices as the foundation of effective energy conservation; and second, the effective application of efficient supply-side alternatives by matching specific energy production and conversion technologies to their most appropriate uses.

Recent ETV Canada performance benchmarking projects in the energy sector are described below.

1. Bio-Energy and Bio-Fuels Workshops

ETV Canada has been responsible for developing the proposals, securing the project partners, preparing the agendas, inviting participants and developing the background documents for two bio-energy related workshops. The final delivery for each of the workshops will take place in October 2007.

1.1 Bio-Energy Workshop - Charting a Path for Eastern Ontario (Renfrew County, Ontario, October 25)

The BioSystems Group and ETV Canada are organizing an interactive full-day workshop, "Bio-Energy - Charting a Path for Eastern Ontario", designed for technology providers and users, regulatory agencies, sector associations, investors, and other stakeholders interested in bio-energy objectives and proposed implementation plans for Eastern Ontario. The workshop is part of a project to identify at least two cogeneration opportunities in Eastern Ontario that will be taken to the business plan stage and identify critical issues that must be resolved in order to implement selected projects. The specific objectives are to:

• Determine if bio-energy objectives and proposed implementation plans are appropriate in meeting the social, economic and environmental priorities of Eastern Ontario;
• Help establish a clear understanding amongst stakeholders on the expected performance of any proposed co-generation facilities in Eastern Ontario, including qualitative and quantitative aspects; and
• Identify information needs, including testing and monitoring procedures.

Inputs to the workshop include existing studies and documentation relevant to bio-energy activities in Eastern Ontario and other similar jurisdictions.

1.2 Bio-fuels Workshop - Meeting Expectations and Measuring Performance (Hamilton, Ontario, October 29)

ETV Canada, the Golden Horseshoe Bio-Sciences Network (GHBN) and McMaster University are organizing an interactive full-day workshop, “Bio-fuels - Meeting Expectations and Measuring Performance”, designed for technology providers and users, regulatory agencies, sector associations, investors, researchers and other stakeholders interested in bio-fuels related technologies, infrastructure and proposed implementation plans. The objective of the workshop is to examine performance criteria and research needs for the successful development, demonstration and deployment of bio-fuels related technologies and infrastructure.

The workshop process will help establish a clear understanding amongst stakeholders on the expected performance of any proposed bio-fuels projects or facilities in Ontario, as well as specific information gaps and research needs. The morning sessions are intended to communicate essential information, introduce "expert opinion" and set the stage for stakeholder engagement on key issues. During the afternoon, discussion groups will be used to further engage stakeholders, followed by "reporting back" and a plenary discussion on outputs. The “Sustainable Development Business Case for Biofuels” (available on the Sustainable Development Technology Canada website) will serve as background information for the workshop.

2. Performance Benchmarking Workshop on Air Quality Criteria for Energy Technologies (Ottawa, November 8)

The Technology Early Action Measures (TEAM) Operations Office of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is being integrated within the new NRCan ecoENERGY Technology and Innovation Initiative (ecoETI). Under this new initiative, project-related environmental performance measurement and reporting will be broader than the GHG focus of the current TEAM System for Monitoring and Reporting on Technologies (SMART). In addition to GHGs, it is expected that SMART will be expanded to include the quantification of air pollutants and energy efficiency. In support of this, the NRCan TEAM Operations Office of Natural Resources Canada and ETV Canada are organizing an interactive workshop on “Air Quality Criteria for Energy Technologies”. The workshop is designed for technology providers and users, regulatory agencies, sector associations, investors, and other stakeholders interested in energy project environmental performance measurement and reporting. The objectives of the workshop are to:

• Examine the priority air pollutants within two specific sectors (Biofuels and Electricity Production);
• Determine appropriate baselines selections; and
• Identify existing data sources and quantification approaches.

The workshop will integrate the ETV Canada stakeholder-driven performance benchmarking process and the Ontario Research and Commercialization Program (ORCP) "Discovery Workshop" process to meet the objectives described above. TEAM recently conducted three case studies for the quantification of air pollutants using three existing TEAM projects (biodiesel, solar and manure management). Based on these case studies, numerous lessons learned/suggestions were identified for inclusion of air pollutants into the SMART process. In addition, ETV Canada will perform a general review and assessment of energy technology and air quality issues in advance of the workshop to assist stakeholders in understanding the context. Anticipated outcomes of the workshop include:

• Development of a targeted list of priority air pollutants
• Guidance on baseline selection for air pollutants in the Biofuels and Electricity Production sectors
• Guidance on methods for analyzing cumulative effects and quantifying air pollutants
• A listing of existing air emissions data sets
• An understanding of the data limitations.

ETV Canada developed this workshop proposal and subsequently secured the project partners, prepared the workshop agenda and invited participants. The background documents for this workshop are currently being developed. Final workshop delivery will take place in November 2007. OCETA ETV Canada will provide a final report outlining the discussion and recommendations arising from the workshop and a path forward for integrating air pollutants into the SMART process.