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WHO KILLED THE SOLAR HOT WATER PANEL?
If we don’t learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. Throughout the 1980s thousands of solar hot water systems were installed on personal and public buildings throughout Canada. These systems were installed during the 3rd wave of renewable energy, as I like to call it. The first was in the 1910s to 1940s when solar and wind systems rivaled utility sources of power. The second began in the early 70s during the first fuel crisis. The forth was the Y2K days, when people doubted the security of the grid. We are now in what I consider to be the 5th wave - lets call it the green movement, like it’s something we just thought of. Let’s focus on the third wave with respect to solar hot water panels – not PV electric panels). Here’s how it happened. Government grants, incentives, and demonstration systems caused an explosion of growth. The industry looked as if it would prosper for a very long time. Eventually all the grants were cut off. The damage was far-reaching. The Canadian Government at every level tried to create an industry where almost none existed. Research exploded into ridiculous areas (remember our 100 percent gamble on the eggbeater windmills?). Money flowed to all sorts of consultants and manufacturers. These people came out of nowhere. Some of the advice and the equipment was bad, but most was excellent. Problems arose from all angles. Systems were designed and sized for places that didn’t warrant it - winter and its freezing temperatures were not accounted for. Grants and contracts were given to American companies; maintenance was completely forgotten; systems were not completed; parts were missing; panels faced north; panels were installed in the shade; and panels disappeared. At the peak, there were 40 manufacturers of solar hot water systems in the Ottawa area alone, and there were several hundred across the country. All in all, a lot of money flowed. By the end of the 1980s things hit rock bottom. The money stopped, maintenance or the complete absence of it became problematic, and fuel prices hit all time lows. Individuals and government, both small and large, came to realize that the solar hot water systems they inherited were now a liability. I entered the renewable energy field at this time. It really was a good time for me - lots of surplus equipment was being dumped. In a perfect world all of these solar systems would be seen as capital investments, and once they’re broken or deemed surplus through nothing less than complete neglect, they would be sold off through Crown Assets Disposal. I have seen some equipment flow through that avenue, but I estimate less than one percent. I have spent the last 20 years trying to convince government to fix or sell all of the remaining equipment. I have made a thousand phone calls and written hundreds of letters to try to convince the people responsible to either fix or sell. Private individuals normally budgeted for maintenance and realized it was necessary. They recognized that their investment was on the line. I removed and reinstalled many systems to permit new roofs to be installed. Many of these systems are still working all these years later. Almost every single government building in Canada had a solar hot water system at one time. A few for example were NCC buildings, post offices, universities, colleges, government run fish hatcheries, research labs, works garages, agriculture research labs, conservation areas, etc, etc. Some of these systems were comprised of 200 or more panels. What happens in every instance, that I know of, is that the panels break for whatever reason, then they sit, I phone, I write, I am promised a call when they are to be fixed, I am assured that the only way the panels will be removed is on their way to crown assets. The roof ends up leaking, the roofer says the panels are in the way, the panels are found to be broken, the roofer is given a paid contract to remove the panels and off they go to the scrap heap. They are never sold off either legally through crown assets or by advertising privately. One of the last remaining large system was on the RCMP headquarters. In 1989, I helped a friend deliver some roof top a/c units to one of the large buildings in Ottawa. There I observed an incredible system that had fallen into disrepair due to damage of a header tube. This system consisted of 120, 3 by 7 foot panels. The system was manufactured in the village of Manotick, ON. I gave the RCMP an estimate to repair the system, but was told a study had to be done. Without budget to do the study, there the system sat. A solar system sitting idle in the sun all year depreciates. Every few months I would phone again. Invariably the person I last spoke to would have moved on and locating the new person would be difficult. A new introduction would have to be made, a new rapport developed and research and presentations would have to be repeated over and over for 20 years... You can see how this would drag on and on and on. Every time the response to fixing the system was that a study would have to be done, and every time the reply was that the budget did not warrant it. How can an extremely expensive slightly broken asset, which saves thousands of dollars every month, not warrant the expense of a study? The study would require them to obtain 3 free estimates from people like me, and compare that with the energy that the system would save (energy output times 4 hours of sun per day). The cost difference would quickly make evident that, compared with fossil fuel heated water, solar is a bargain - especially since the cost is to fix, not replace! (To be continued in Newsletter #49)
QUOTABLES...I hope we don't have to wait till oil and coal run out before we tackle that." Thomas Edison, 1847 - 1931
NUCLEAR POWER SPEEDING UP GLOBAL WARMING Much has been made of the power contained in a single uranium fuel bundle used in Ontario’s CanDU reactors to produce electricity. It is supposed to be able to generate as much electricity as 380 tonnes of coal or 1,800 barrels of oil (Canadian Nuclear Association website “Nuclear Facts”). Compared to the burning of fossil fuels to produce the steam to generate electric power the fuel bundle undergoes a fission process, splitting the uranium atoms to produce heat to fabricate the steam to drive turbines connected to the generators in a complicated process of electricity generation. Matter-of-fact so much heat is produced by the fission-activated neutrons that – to keep the fuel from uncontrolled meltdown – there need to be huge amounts of cooling water drawn from Lakes Huron and Ontario. The 6 operating Bruce Power reactors, by the way, are drawing close to 17 million litres of lake water A MINUTE( ! !) to keep the process from overheating (Golder Associates Ltd. Consultants). What happens to this cooling water? Most of it is discharged back to the lake, but not in the same condition – it goes back out up to 12 degrees Celsius warmer! This so-called thermal plume has been heating up the Lakes for decades, 24/7, 365 days a year. Very little ice has been forming on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay over successive, even colder, winters, resulting in lake water evaporation over the full 12 months instead of the normal 8 months of ice-free water. Without ice cover solar irradiation will also have the effect of additional warming of the open waters, while ice cover would have reflected the sun’s rays! No wonder lake levels continue to drop, now at record low levels, affecting the economy of shipping companies and marinas, with waters getting warmer, resulting in increased evaporation and cloud forming. Wind Farm near Berlin, Germany
That powerful fuel bundle – and there are 5760 of them in each reactor – can remain productive for just over 12 months, at which time it has to be removed BY REMOTE CONTROL because the fission has made it so highly radioactive that it would kill a person, standing as close as 3 metres, instantly. When it is removed it still contains over 99% of potential energy,”but to extract it out costs a lot more than just to take it out and put it under water” (Jeremy Whitlock, past President, Canadian Nuclear Society, quoted on New Media Journalism website). That ‘spent fuel’ bundle is so hot (37,000 watts – AECL 1994, NWMO Study ‘Choosing a Way Forward – 2005) that it, together with its compatriots, has to be kept in huge swimming pools, called irradiated fuel bays, for at least 10 years to bring the heat down to 5 watts, at which point it is supposed to be safe to store it above ground in heavy concrete containers. So this impressive energy contained in the fuel bundle creating all the heat – how much electricity does it actually produce? Figures quoted generally pertain to primary power generation only. This writer has toured the Bruce Power plant several times, also the huge Waste Management Facility adjacent to the reactors. There are a large number of auxiliary buildings absorbing lots of power, huge pumps sucking the cooling water from the Lake, stand-by power yards, fire fighting equipment – of course computers are running all the functions on site – all these together consume about one third of the electric power generated. Together with transformer and transmission line losses and with the THERMAL POLLUTION HEAT LOSS, only about 33% of the heat released by that fuel bundle, while in the reactor, reaches the end user as electricity! (“Nuclear Heat”, Issue Brief, Union of Concerned Scientists, August 2006). Talking about efficiency – EFFICIENTLY HEATING UP OUR ENVIRONMENT WITH A HUGE AMOUNT OF WASTE HEAT! IS NUCLEAR POWER REALLY THE SOLUTION TO GLOBAL WARMING ?? Ziggy Kleinau, Coordinator for CFRE, has taken part in Environmental Assessment and licensing hearings before the Atomic Energy Control Board(AECB) and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission(CNSC) for over 12 years.
QUOTABLES...entire energy capacity of all the nuclear power plants in Canada."(!!) CanSIA, A Solar Plan for Canada, Nov. 2004
As we enter another change of season in Ontario, we may notice significant changes in the political, social, economic, weather and spiritual climate of our environment. Things change, people move, nature adjusts and life continues to evolve. To match the needs of the individual with the needs of the community and the needs of all life is truly a worthy cause that my soul is attracted to. My hopes of modern society weaning itself from polluting brown sources is only partially fulfilled by the promotion of green renewable energy resources. The yearning for increasing the awareness and utilization of white energy resources is growing in me. This white energy is a subtle, human force of spirituality that can benefit humanity and all life. The awareness of this subtle energy can have enormous benefits on human thinking and habits. Physical tools and toys, which can determine the ease of society’s lifestyle, can be intellectually explained and supported. Human evolution requires a deeper and more spiritual focus in order to change current human activities. I, therefore, will continue to support CFRE as an active member, but step aside from the President’s position, hoping an enthusiastic and energetic individual can take over this vacancy. I thank all current members of CFRE for their support to the activities and thinking of this organization. I look forward to seeing all of us acting as leaders of a balanced lifestyle that promotes the health and wellbeing of all life forms on this planet, our home. Peace and harmony to all. Vitold Kreutzer; 519-923-3005
NEW SMART CAR ON THE MARKET
The next generation of Smart Cars have landed in the Canadian market and they are now gasoline powered instead of diesel. They will be powered by a 1 litre, 3 cylinder, 70 hp gasoline engine. Fuel economy will not be as good as the diesel, but you will still likely qualify for the eco-auto rebate of $2,000 from the federal government. These engines are rated at 5.9 litres per 100 Km city and 4.8 on the highway and 5.4 combined. The diesel is likely to come back but the emission controls will have to be improved with the new Canadian standards. They are also testing electric Smarts that you can plug in to recharge. The new Smart is a little bigger with a 19 cm longer wheel base and 220 litres of storage space with up to 340 litres if you load it to the roof line. I have no problem piling in groceries for a group of five and since I am driving on my own most of the time, I have plenty of space in the passenger side. The passenger seat also folds down. It feels roomy in the cockpit and now the new Smart is 2.5 cm wider. The visibility is great and since you sit higher than most passenger cars, it is very easy to get in and out of. People often ask me about the safety of the Smart and I actually feel safer than most small cars on the road since it has tridion steel safety cage around the driver and passenger. I have driven it for one winter so far and with the snow tires, electronic stability program and ABS brakes, I feel that it is a solid car on the road. It drives just like any other car. I never feel that I am in some unstable tin can, even at speeds of 120 Km per hour. I expect the new 2008 Smart is the same.The new Smarts will start at $14,999 and can go as high as $21,250 for the top of the line cabriolet.
With the festive season fast approaching we remember a beautiful, mild autumn, but looking out the window at the swirling snow – winter is coming early… The coordinator spent September in Germany, renewing family ties and also enjoying a class reunion. One of the highlights was a visit to a 1.8 MegaWatt wind turbine near Berlin. The engineer took us, my nephew and me, all the way up the inside of the 80 meter tower into the engine room, explaining the workings of the intricate system and also letting us have a peek out of the hatch, overlooking a field of similar turbines. He mentioned the problems they have with access to the utility’s transmission system, repeatedly having to shut down the turbine because of poorly planned maintenance work on the grid, losing quite a lot of production. I got a taste of the turmoil in the rail sector when exactly on the day of my departure the train operators called for a strike. Not to hazard missing my plane I had to leave for Hamburg a day early. During my absence our president and vice-president staffed a CFRE display at the Feast of Fields event and reported remarkable interest in our work. Both will be looking after our display at the Organic Conference, Guelph University, on the last weekend in January. We also have commitment from Tim and Erica to come and help out. Come and see our display and say hello! In October I attended a Symposium on renewable energy and clean transportation in Ancaster, organized by Kairos, an ecumenical partnership promoting human rights, peace and ecological justice. Two of our members, Frank Barningham and Brenda Dolling gave presentations about their off-grid energy-efficient house and the Whole Village Co-op Housing project, respectively. In our September newsletter I mentioned CFRE’s request for intervenor funding in the OPG and Bruce Power Phase One Environmental Review Panel Assessments. Well, we were awarded funding, but only 20% of what we had asked for. Now we are awaiting the government’s release of the Draft Guidelines for the Panel Hearings for public comments. I was invited to be one of the presenters in a ‘Binational Forum on the Dangers of Nuclear Power on the Great Lakes’ organized by a number of U.S. groups concerned about effects from the proposed Deep Geological Repository for low- and intermediate level nuclear waste, on the north shore of Lake Huron. It was held at a church hall in Warren, MI, a suburb of Detroit. After the morning presentation I lectured the audience with a visual presentation on what CFRE is promoting – the clean and safe alternative to nuclear power – small-scale renewable energy generation from solar and wind. The following week I attended a Bruce Power workshop on the proposed new build of reactors, where the proponent hasn’t even decided which of 5 reactor designs he will choose –an exercise in futility to determine the environmental effects! And then there was the Solar Conference the 19th and 20th of November in Toronto, sponsored by the Canadian Solar Industry Association (CanSIA) not to be missed. A great venue to hear from experts and to meet other activists. For the last weekend we had an invitation to display at the Whole Life Expo, at the Toronto Convention Centre. After last year’s great experience we didn’t want to miss that one and were happy to have Kerry, a dedicated volunteer, cover the Friday evening portion, freeing up Tim Spencer and me for Saturday, with Vitold joining us on Sunday. We were happy with the interest shown and distributed lots of information material. We continued to have monthly conference calls for the board. Frank (Barney) Barningham, who jointly with his wife Liz had replaced Jeff Harti at our AGM, put in their resignation due to health reasons, and, as you might have read in Vitold’s President’s Message, he will be resigning as of January 31st. So we will have two vacancies to fill and are looking to active CFRE members, maybe one from the Toronto region, to fill the openings! Please consider helping us to keep this organization a vibrant force , advocating a cleaner and safer energy mix for Ontario!! There is really not much time commitment involved! Contact the coordinator at 519-795-7725 or email cfre at web.ca . 
Lofty Heights...The Co-ordinator and nephew on top of 1.8 MW wind turbine, with one huge blade in background (near Berlin)
With 2007 rapidly coming to a close the aspect of income tax filing will soon be on the agenda. There is a great way of limiting your taxes going to a poorly accountable government. You can support CFRE's work by making out a cheque to CCWM (Citizens' Clearinghouse for Waste Management), write 'Donation CFRE' on the MEMO line and send it to our address as shown on front page. You'll get a charitable donation receipt from our sister organization to deduct from your 'tax payable' portion. Please note: Your cheque should be dated Dec. 31/07 or before! Thank you so much for supporting CFRE!!I don’t want to conclude this column before expressing, on behalf of the members of the board, our thanks to all you members for your loyal support, and extending our wishes for a happy, healthy , blessed Holiday Season and a peaceful 2008 with a whole bunch of renewable energy!
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