ARC ENERGY IDEAS

This week Frank Davis, Assistant VP, Green Hydrogen and Canada Country Head at Pattern Energy joins as our guest.  Pattern Energy is developing a green hydrogen project at the Port of Argentia in Newfoundland and Labrador. The project will use renewable electricity to produce green hydrogen and convert it into ammonia.  Here are some of the questions that Jackie and Peter asked Frank: Tell us about the different parts of the project (electricity production to hydrogen and ammonia). Why did you select the province of Newfoundland and Labrador? How do you manage the variability of renewable power while running the ammonia plant 24/7? How much does the cost of green ammonia compare with hydrogen produced from fossil fuels? Would you look for 10 or 20 year take-or-pay contracts before proceeding with the project or is it a merchant model? How does Canadian policy for green hydrogen compare with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)? Content referenced:  Learn more about Pattern Energy’s project in Newfoundland: Argentia Renewables - Pattern EnergyUN IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023 (see page 7 of the Summary for Policy Makers to see the infographic that compares to what extent future generations will experience a hotter and different world), Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/ 

Institutional investors are making pledges to reduce the emissions in their portfolio of investments. Most often the goals are tied to their scope 1 and 2 emissions (those controlled by a company they invest in). Occasionally, scope 3 emissions are also included in their goals (indirect emissions from a company’s value chain). While it is not common today, this podcast explains why scope 4 (also called avoided emissions) should be considered in green investment goals. Scope 4 emissions consider the big-picture impact by capturing the emission benefits when a company’s products are used.   For example, take an energy-intensive insulation manufacturer that has relatively high scope 1 and 2 emissions.  These high emissions could cause investors with strict requirements around reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions to not invest. However, when insulation is used in buildings, the emissions reductions are large.  These long-term emissions reductions from using the insulation are scope 4 or avoided emissions.  This example demonstrates how, by considering the scope 4 emissions, investors can see the big picture of their investment's climate impact. This week our guests tell us more about the state of emissions reporting, including scope 4 emissions. We are pleased to welcome Erica Coulombe, Vice President at Millani, and Marcus Rocque, Senior Research Analyst at ARC Energy Research Institute to the podcast. Content referenced in this podcast:  Report that outlines the GHG emission reduction goals of various Canadian pension funds “Building Climate Resilience In Canada’s Pension Funds” by Smart Prosperity Institute  Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/  

This week our guest is the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources. The Government of Canada is working on some key energy policies, such as the clean energy incentives in the 2023 federal budget and a Sustainable Jobs Plan. Peter and Jackie asked Minister Wilkinson these questions: How has the Sustainable Jobs Plan been received so far? Which provinces are joining the regional roundtables and what do you hope to learn from them? What is the progress on Canada’s Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) policy? Do you expect any CCS projects to be sanctioned? What is the latest news on the Federal Government’s proposed cap on oil and gas emissions? How is Canada competing with the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)? What is the status of the proposed East Coast green hydrogen projects? Content referenced in this podcast:  Government of Canada’s Sustainable Jobs Plan Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/ 

This week our guest is Jana Mosley, President of ENMAX Power. Headquartered in Calgary with operations across Alberta and Maine, ENMAX Corporation is a leading provider of electricity services, products and solutions. Jana is responsible for ENMAX’s regulated transmission and distribution business in Calgary. She also directs ENMAX’s power infrastructure, engineering and maintenance services. Here are some of the questions Jackie and Peter asked Jana: Why did ENMAX purchase the business in Maine? What is ENMAX doing to help customers with affordability and adoption of clean energy? Is net-zero electricity possible by 2035 for ENMAX? What are you doing to prepare for a growing number of electric vehicles (EVs), trucks and medium duty fleet vehicles?  Besides EVs do you expect other electricity load growth? Will Calgarians be able to use their EVs in their homes for battery back-up and for sending electricity back to the grid? Do you expect that there will be a need to build new wires and equipment to people’s homes to support EVs and other load growth?  Content referenced in this podcast: Jackie’s tweet about the peak energy load in Alberta for natural gas and electricity using ATCO data: https://twitter.com/JackieForrest/status/1605331565151924224 Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/  

This week our guest is Stewart Muir, founder and CEO of Resource Works,.  Resource Works is a public-interest advocacy and communications not-for-profit based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Their mission is to reignite the promise of Canada's economic future by leading respectful, inclusive and fact-based dialogue on natural resource development.  Here are some of the questions that Peter and Jackie asked Stewart:  How have politics in B.C. changed with the new Premier, David Eby? How is LNG viewed in B.C. now? Is LNG considered as green energy and a way to reduce the use of coal in Asia? What do you think are the chances for the second phase of LNG Canada? What is the sentiment from Indigenous groups on resource development? Explain the Blueberry River First Nations agreement with the B.C. government and how it impacts industrial development in other areas of the province? Do you expect large scale CCS projects to be developed in Northeast B.C.? Content referenced in this podcast: From Peter Tertzakian’s Energyphile “Stairway to Hell” the story of the ghost coal mining town of Bankhead Government of Canada’s Sustainable Jobs Plan Stewart’s new company Tersa Earth Innovations  Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/  

This week Peter and Jackie catch up on the latest news and topics of interest including: Russia to cut oil production by 500,000 B/d in March BP scales back their target to reduce their oil production by 2030  The collapse in North American and International natural gas prices Waiting for the Canadian Federal Government’s spring budget to learn about clean energy incentives policy The concern with articles that overpromise when it comes to clean energy technologies, including commentary on the article “Scientists Successfully Split Seawater to Produce Green Hydrogen” (OilPrice.com) Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/ To see a transcript of this podcast, visit the link (scroll part way down the page):Catching Up: Russia, Oil, Natural Gas, Policy and Clean Tech Promises (arcenergyinstitute.com)

This week on the podcast our guest is John Graham, President and CEO of Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Investments. The mandate of CPP Investments is to invest the assets of the CPP Fund with a view to achieving a maximum rate of return without undue risk of loss. Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked John Graham: What is the history of why Canada created the CPP and CPP Investments? What are your thoughts on 2023 with respect to geopolitics, threat of recession, inflation and volatility in general? Are you dampening your return expectations as a result of the weaker macro outlook? Is the CPP well funded to support Canadians who retire long into the future? Does the CPP have a net-zero 2050 goal?  Will you still invest in high carbon industries, for example steel, concrete or oil and gas? Do you have goals for investing in clean and green energy? What are the barriers for investing capital in clean energy? Could the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) attract energy transition focused capital away from Canada? There is an active debate in Alberta now about leaving the CPP, beyond contribution levels, what other factors should Albertan’s consider in this major decision? Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/   To see a transcript of this podcast, visit the link (scroll part way down the page): An Interview with Canada Pension Plan Investment’s President and CEO, John Graham (arcenergyinstitute.com)

In September 2022, Enbridge and 23 First Nations and Metis communities announced that the Indigenous groups would buy an 11.57% non-operating interest in Enbridge operated pipelines in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta for $1.12 Billion – it has been called the first of its kind and an historic announcement. This week, Justin Bourque, President of Athabasca Indigenous Investments and Colin Gruending, Enbridge’s Executive Vice President and President of Liquids Pipelines join the podcast to tell us more about the agreement.   Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked Justin and Colin:  How will the agreement help the 23 communities who are now equity partners in the pipeline system?  How did Athabasca Indigenous Investments finance their share of the pipeline for over $1 billion? What was the process like – who made the first phone call and how long did it take to come to an agreement? Do you foresee more equity partnerships occurring in the future? What is your advice for how companies should participate in Indigenous reconciliation? Content referenced in this podcast: Book Recommendation: 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph  Enbridge’s Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plan including the artwork of Jason Carter  Athabasca Indigenous Investments   Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/  To see a transcript of this podcast, visit the link (scroll part way down the page):  Making History: Enbridge Partners with Indigenous Communities on Pipelines (arcenergyinstitute.com)

This week on the podcast our guest is Blake Shaffer, Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary.   We cover a range of topics about Alberta and Canada’s electricity markets.  Including revisiting the tight power market that Alberta experienced during the  December 2022 cold spell, the issues and opportunities that come from the ramp-up of Electric Vehicles (EV), and finally the prospects for achieving net-zero electricity by 2035 in Canada.  Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked Blake: Does Alberta’s Electricity Systems Operator (AESO) need a better system for asking residential consumers to reduce their demand in times that the power system is in short supply?  How are electrical system distributors preparing for the coming influx of EVs?  Will people adjust their charging behavior to help the electrical system accommodate more EVs? Do you think Canada can achieve net-zero electricity by 2035? Will large transmission lines between provinces be required to achieve net-zero?  How could net-zero impact consumer’s utility bills in 2035?  Content referenced in this podcast: Follow Blake on Twitter @bcshaffer https://twitter.com/bcshaffer Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/  To see a transcript of this podcast, visit the link (scroll part way down the page): Can the Grid Handle EVs? (arcenergyinstitute.com)

Carbon credits are coming under increasing scrutiny. The Guardian ran an article last week that alleged that 90% of rainforest carbon credits issued by Verra, manager of the world’s leading voluntary carbon markets program, the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, did not represent genuine offsets.  And, comedian John Oliver made the entertaining case that carbon offsets do not deliver the emissions benefit that they claim.  This week, our guest Dirk Forrister, President and CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) helps us understand the current state of the carbon markets. Here are some of the questions that Peter and Jackie asked Dirk: What is your response to the critics of carbon markets – including John Oliver and The Guardian? To improve credibility, some groups are advocating that avoidance credits should be banished, and only removal credits should be supported – do you agree with that perspective? When do you expect that countries can trade credits across borders? Does the Article 6 agreement ,made during COP 26, facilitate international trade? Do you think Canada could use Article 6 to offset the emissions for operating LNG export terminals?  Are you concerned by the price volatility in carbon credit markets? Content referenced in this podcast: Our weekly publication, the ARC Energy Charts has our 2023 outlook for the Canadian oil and gas industry revenue, cash flow, and capital spending – see the last page The Guardian, January 18, 2023 “Revealed: More than 90% of rainforest carbon offset credits by biggest provider are worthless, analysis shows” John Oliver show on carbon offsets  International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) website: https://www.ieta.org/ Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/  To see a transcript of this podcast, visit the link (scroll part way down the page):  Are Carbon Offsets Credible? (arcenergyinstitute.com)