ARC ENERGY IDEAS

This week, our guest is Matt Jamieson, President and CEO of the Six Nations of Grand River Development Corporation (SNGRDC). SNGRDC’s mission is to achieve economic self-sufficiency for their community by 2030. The Six Nations of the Grand River is located near Toronto and is Canada's most populated First Nation, with just over 30,000 members.  The Nation has established the Six Nations of Grand River Development Corporation, which has a separate governance and decision-making structure from the Nation’s political decision-making structure.  The corporation has become an equity partner in a variety of renewable energy projects, including transmission, wind, solar, and battery storage. The corporation has ambitious goals for delivering economic benefits to the community, targeting $150 million annually by 2030 in direct economic impact to the Nation.   Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked Matt Jamieson: Why was a separate governance structure used for the corporation? What types of projects are you involved in?  How did you finance your equity share in these projects with your partners? Tell us about the Niagara Reinforcement Line and the Oneida Energy Storage Project? How has consultation with Indigenous communities on these types of projects changed over the past decade? What are your thoughts on the Fall Economic Statement that the Liberal government could introduce a multibillion-dollar loan program to help Indigenous groups in Canada buy equity in resource projects? What is your advice to Indigenous communities and companies who want to work with them on how to get started? Other content referenced in this podcast: Six Nations of Grand River Development Corporation Website  Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/  Check us out on social media: X (Twitter): @arcenergyinst LinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research Institute Subscribe to ARC Energy Ideas Podcast Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Amazon Music Spotify 

This week, Kelly Shue, Professor of Finance at Yale School of Management, joins the podcast.  Earlier this year, Professor Shue and her co-author, Professor Samuel M. Hartzmark, published “Counterproductive Sustainable Investing: The Impact Elasticity of Brown and Green Firms.”  Their research paper concludes that the sustainable investing practice of divesting high-emitting companies (referred to as “brown” firms) in favor of low-emitting companies (referred to as “green” firms) is counterproductive to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.Here are some of the questions that Peter and Jackie ask Professor Shue: Why did you conclude that the sustainable investing practice of divesting away from high-carbon companies towards low-carbon ones is counterproductive? What are some examples of “brown” and “green” companies?  What are the shortcomings of measuring the percentage GHG emission reduction of a company, as opposed to absolute reductions? Were you surprised to learn that oil, gas, and energy-producing firms are key innovators in the United States’ green patent landscape? What are your thoughts on the anti-ESG movement, where some US states are asking their pension funds to divest ESG-orientated companies? Do you think institutional investors, who have made hard goals around reducing their financed emissions, should consider changing these goals? What are the shortcomings in using the company-level ESG ratings provided by firms such as Sustainalytics, MSCI, and Bloomberg to identify green companies?Other content referenced in this podcast:-   Counterproductive Sustainable Investing: The Impact Elasticity of Brown and Green Firms (2023) -  The ESG-Innovation Disconnect: Evidence from Green Patenting (2021) -  Yale Insights: Green Investing Could Push Polluters to Emit More Greenhouse Gases (2023) Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/Check us out on social media:X (Twitter): @arcenergyinst LinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research InstituteSubscribe to ARC Energy Ideas PodcastApple Podcasts Google Podcasts Amazon Music Spotify

This week, our guest is Paolo Maccario, President and CEO of Silfab Solar. Silfab Solar is a Canadian company headquartered in Mississauga that manufactures solar panels in Ontario, Washington State, and South Carolina.  The South Carolina facility will manufacture solar panels and cells with operations expected to be online in the third quarter of 2024.  Cells are a critical input to making modules, and the South Carolina facility will be the first of its kind in North America. Paolo explains that with the significant incentives offered in the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Canada is unable to compete with the United States to attract investment in solar panel manufacturing facilities. Here are some of the questions that Peter and Jackie ask Paolo: Why have the share prices for publicly traded solar manufacturing companies fallen this year?  How has solar panel pricing changed in the past year? Have the US tariffs on Chinese panels resulted in a boost for US domestic manufacturing?  How impactful are the IRA incentives for solar manufacturing, both the production tax credit (PTC) and the investment tax credit (ITC)? How do the incentives in Canada compare with the United States?  What is the efficiency of solar panels today, and is there room for improvement?  How can manufacturers keep up with the rapid pace of technical innovation?  What is the state of solar panel recycling?  The Canadian government has offered more generous incentives for producing lithium-ion batteries, how do the jobs for manufacturing batteries compare with solar panels?  Other content referenced in this podcast: Silfab Solar Sustainability Impact Report ARC Financial Sustainability Report  Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/  Check us out on social media: X (Twitter): @arcenergyinst LinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research Institute Subscribe to ARC Energy Ideas Podcast Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Amazon Music Spotify

This week, Jean-Denis Charlebois joins the podcast. Jean-Denis is the Chief Economist at the Canada Energy Regulator (CER).  The CER released a report in June outlining three potential future energy scenarios, titled “Canada’s Energy Future 2023: Energy Supply and Demand Projections to 2050.”  Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked Jean-Denis: Why did the CER publish net-zero scenarios for the first time in this recent edition? Are you concerned about how these scenarios are implicitly being used as predictions by politicians or other commentators on energy in Canada?  How much does Canadian electricity consumption increase in the CER scenarios? What is the potential market share for heat pumps? How does the mix of power generation change?  What is the future cost of carbon? Canada’s oil production is assumed to decline significantly in the net-zero scenarios; however, could supply be more resilient considering Canada's advantages as a stable, secure, and low-carbon supplier? What energy-focused capital spending is required for the Canadian net-zero scenarios, and how does that compare with history?  Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/  Check us out on social media: X (Twitter): @arcenergyinst LinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research Institute Subscribe to ARC Energy Ideas Podcast Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Amazon Music Spotify  

This week, Peter and Jackie discuss recent news headlines, including some scary topics on this Halloween podcast recording. Here are some of the topics they discussed:· Rising geopolitical risks.  Why are the oil markets calm in the face of the Israel-Hamas conflict and the potential for an oil outage? · ExxonMobil and Chevron announce significant acquisitions.  In contrast to the news headlines, Peter and Jackie argue that these acquisitions could make sense, even in the scenario that oil and gas demand declines.  · Clean energy stocks tumble.  Clean energy indexes like the WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW) are down about 35 percent since the summer. Why are stocks down, and what are the likely implications?· Canada announces a three-year pause in the carbon tax for heating oil to help with affordability.  Yet, other sources of heating in the country do not get a break.  Jackie and Peter discuss the outrage in areas of the country that do not depend on heating oil for heat, as well as other possible implications.Other content referenced in this podcast:· Thunder Said Energy: War and commodities: how do conflicts impact prices? October 12, 2023· The Clean Investment Monitor: Tracking Decarbonization Technology in the United States, Rhodium Group, MIT, CEEPR, September 2023· Prime Minister of Canada Office (PMO) announcement “Delivering support for Canadians on energy bills,” October 26, 2023Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/Check us out on social media:X (Twitter): @arcenergyinst LinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research InstituteSubscribe to ARC Energy Ideas PodcastApple Podcasts Google Podcasts Amazon Music Spotify

This week our guest is Jason Schneider, Director, Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) and Reeve of Vulcan County in Southern Alberta. The RMA is a progressive, independent association committed to meeting the diverse and changing needs of Alberta’s 69 counties and municipal districts. Since 1909, the RMA has helped rural municipalities advocate for strong, effective local government.  The RMA did not ask for a pause on new permits for renewables projects in Alberta; however, they do have concerns that they hope the inquiry will tackle, including the use of prime agricultural land for renewables projects and a lack of plans for reclamation and cleanup. Jason is also an elected official in Vulcan County. Vulcan County is conveniently located close to Calgary and Lethbridge in southwest Alberta. Including the towns and rural areas, the total population is about 7,000 people. The County covers an area of about 6.5 times larger than Calgary. Vulcan County currently has four renewable projects operating or under construction, approximately six approved projects, and about a dozen more in the pre-approval, early proposal stages.   Here are some of the questions Jackie and Peter asked Jason:  What is the scale of the renewable projects in Vulcan County? Who benefits financially from the projects? What are some of RMA’s concerns with the current process for approving and permitting renewables projects?  Is the building of transmission lines also a concern? What are the requirements for reclamation of the projects? If the projects are on private land, why is reclamation a concern of the municipality? Does social media and misinformation contribute to opposition to renewable projects? If so, what is the best way to communicate accurate information to citizens?  What changes would you like to see from the Alberta Utilities Commission's (AUC) inquiry on the development of renewables projects?   Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/  Check us out on social media: X (Twitter): @arcenergyinst LinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research Institute Subscribe to ARC Energy Ideas Podcast Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Amazon Music Spotify 

This week our guest is Rob West, founder and CEO of Thunder Said Energy. Founded in 2019, the firm aims to help decision-makers find economic opportunities in the energy transition. Rob lives nine time zones away in Estonia and is an uber-productive energy expert, covering a wide range of topics in his consultancy.  Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked Rob: What are your views on the likely demand for oil and gas in 2050? Assuming that oil and gas demand remains relatively high, is it still possible to achieve the current climate targets?  Do you think the cost of direct air capture (DAC) can be further reduced?  What are some of the technologies and solutions that are most effective in reducing GHG emissions at the lowest cost?  You have been warning about an energy shortage for some time, is this still a concern, especially considering that the energy markets have been relatively well-supplied in the past year? Do you think fusion energy can become commercial?   Other content referenced in this podcast:  Thunder Said Energy blog on the supply and demand for global energy and the concerns about under-supply: https://thundersaidenergy.com/downloads/global-energy-supply-demand-balance/ Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/  Check us out on social media: X (Twitter): @arcenergyinst LinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research Institute Subscribe to ARC Energy Ideas Podcast Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Amazon Music Spotify  

On October 13th, Canada’s top court ruled that Canada’s federal Impact Assessment Act (also known as Bill C-69 and sometimes called the “no-more-pipelines act”) is unconstitutional, with a 5-2 decision. To learn more about the decision and the implications for major projects in Canada and future environmental policy, we welcome Sander Duncanson, Partner, Regulatory, Indigenous, and Environmental at Osler to the podcast. Osler is a Canadian business law firm.   Sander was one of the authors of “Supreme Court of Canada finds the federal Impact Assessment Act unconstitutional,” a briefing published by Osler the day of the ruling.    Next, on the podcast, we talk with Chris Severson-Baker, Executive Director of the Pembina Institute, a Canadian environmental organization.  Here are some of the questions Jackie and Peter asked Chris: Have affordability issues reduced the focus on climate as a top concern? Do you see scenarios, such as the IEA’s Net Zero Scenario, which assume a rapid decline in oil and natural gas demand as realistic? Do you agree with Alberta’s moratorium on new permits for renewable projects? In your opinion, does Canada’s oil and gas industry need a cap on its greenhouse gas emissions? What is Pembina’s position on developing Canada’s LNG export market? Do you view the plan for Canada to reach net-zero electricity by 2035 as achievable? What are your expectations for the upcoming COP28 meeting in Dubai?  Other content referenced in this podcast:  Danielle Smith’s statement about the Supreme Court Ruling on X (formerly Twitter) Pembina’s 2023 Alberta Climate Summit on October 26 in Calgary  Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/ Check us out on social media:X (Twitter): @arcenergyinstLinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research InstituteSubscribe to ARC Energy Ideas PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAmazon MusicSpotify

This week, our guest is the Honourable Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta. There are some important federal policies under development with implications for the province of Alberta, including Ottawa’s oil and gas emissions cap and the Clean Electricity Regulation (CER) that aims to move Canada to net-zero electricity by 2035. The Alberta government has also put a six-month moratorium, until the end of February 2024, on approvals of new renewable power projects. Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked Premier Smith:From an energy perspective, how could the Alberta Sovereignty Act be used to respond to Ottawa’s policies?  What do you say to people who think the oil and gas industry is not reducing emissions fast enough, and therefore more policy is required?A cap on oil and gas emissions, asking for a 42% reduction below 2019 levels by 2030, could cause production curtailments with negative implications for provincial revenues and oil and gas companies; how will this get reconciled? What led Alberta to put a temporary moratorium on new permits for wind and solar projects? Why do you think the federal government's proposed Clean Electricity Regulation isbad for Alberta? Why did you launch a national campaign to bring awareness to the issue with the clean electricity policy? Carbon capture and storage (CCS)project spending in Alberta is moving slower than most people anticipated; why is that, and can the province help? Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/ Check us out on social media:X (Twitter): @arcenergyinstLinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research InstituteSubscribe to ARC Energy Ideas PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAmazon MusicSpotify

The 24th World Petroleum Congress (WPC) was held in Calgary from September 17 to 21, 2023. The conference is the world’s leading assembly for the petroleum industry. This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter discuss some conference themes, including the lively discussion on the future of oil demand and the decarbonization of oil and gas.  They also debate whether the industries’ messaging about the likelihood of higher oil and gas demand in the future needs to be adjusted to address the concerns this raises for achieving climate goals.Jackie and Peter also share interviews they took part in at the event, including:·       Shaikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah, the Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of                     Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (“KPC”)·       Mark Thomas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Bapco Energies·        Jyoti Gondek, Calgary’s Mayor·       Joy Romero, Executive Advisor Innovation at Canadian Natural Resources Limited             and President at CRIN (Clean Resources Innovation Network)·       Kevin Krausert, CEO and Co-Founder at Avatar Innovations Inc.·       Gillian McCormack, National Director, Clients & Industries at Bennett Jones·       Taryn Humphreys, Director of Business Development at Qube Technologies·       Eric Petursson, Director of Commercial at Entropy Inc.·       Katie Smith-Parent, Business Development, Industry Diversification at Spartan                   Controls·       Cindy Yeilding, Director, Denbury Inc. ·       Harrie Vredenburg, Professor of Strategy and Sustainability, Haskayne School of                 Business, Research Fellow, School of Public Policy, University of Calgary·       Dean Tucker, Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chair of the Board for the World                   Petroleum CongressContent referenced in this podcast:  ·       See Peter’s art exhibit at Heritage Park, titled “Those Who Have Seen the Invention          Pronounce it Wonderful: A Modernist View of the History of Light”, learn more                     here: https://heritagepark.ca/exhibits/history-of-lightbulb/Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/ Check us out on social media:X (Twitter): @arcenergyinst LinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research InstituteSubscribe to ARC Energy Ideas PodcastApple Podcasts Google Podcasts Amazon Music Spotify