Janna Greir and her partner Ryan always loved the idea of ranching, living in the country, and operating a small farm, but becoming a first-generation farmer is nearly impossible these days.

That is until she discovered the combination of sheep and solar. The family had a dozen sheep until she landed a contract with Capital Power to manage the vegetation on their Strathmore Solar Farm. Janna has become an expert in vegetation management since then and the land is now much more productive and her flock has grown to more than 1,000 sheep on this one site alone.

Not only has Janna grown her flock significantly, she is also doing consulting work to help others do the same. Her experience points to a bright future for farming and solar.

Part 1 in a 2-part series.

GreenEnergyFutures CKUA.com Video Podcast

BLOG at GreenEnergyFutures.ca

Janna Greir and her partner Ryan always loved the idea of ranching, living in the country, and operating a small farm, but becoming a first-generation farmer is nearly impossible these days.

That is until she discovered the combination of sheep and solar.

The family had a dozen sheep until she landed a contract with Capital Power to manage the vegetation on their Strathmore Solar Farm. Janna has become something of an expert in vegetation management since then and the land is now much more productive and her flock has grown to more than 1,000 sheep on this one site alone.

Janna has become a consultant, and is already further expanding her operation pointing to an amazing bright future for what is called agrivoltaics, the combining of solar and farming.

Rather than gobble up farmland, she is improving productivity and dramatically improving the economics of being a farmer, first generation or otherwise.

Part 1 in a 2 part series.

GreenEnergyFutures CKUA.com Video Podcast

BLOG at GreenEnergyFutures.ca

Janna Greir and her partner Ryan always loved the idea of ranching, living in the country, and operating a small farm, but becoming a first-generation farmer is nearly impossible these days.

That is until she discovered the combination of sheep and solar. The family had a dozen sheep until she landed a contract with Capital Power to manage the vegetation on their Strathmore Solar Farm. Janna has become something of an expert in vegetation management since then and the land is now much more productive and her flock has grown to more than 1,000 sheep on this one site alone.

Her story points to a bright future for farmers who want to improve productivity and the economics of their farms. Janna says there is nothing but potential for the expansion of the idea often referred to as Agrivoltaics.

This is part one in our series.

GreenEnergyFutures CKUA.com Podcast

BLOG at GreenEnergyFutures.ca

Gary Holden of Lodestone Energy in New Zealand says making solar energy available to everyone is the secret to building an affordable, resilient, net-zero electricity grid.

The idea is to build solar projects in or near every town and offer the solar to consumers who can't put solar on their homes or businesses the opportunity to go solar.

He also says this distributed energy, when coupled with energy storage will save money on grid infrastructure expansions, provide cheap energy and ultimately be a key link in transforming the electricity grid to net-zero.

GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Podcast

Learn more in our blog at GreenEnergyFutures.ca

This week we speak to Tristan Walker one of 40 people appointed as a fellow of The Energy Futures social innovation lab to have the hard conversations about how our energy systems can evolve to meet net-zero objectives.

Tristan Walker of Massif Energy is working on the Alberta's Electricity Future initiative with a diverse group of Albertans.

While the social sphere is dominated by polarization, and us-verses-them narratives the people in the lab from a wide cross section of society and industry come together to find common ground on some of the biggest issues of our time, such as how to get Alberta to net-zero.

GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Podcast

Learn more in our blog at GreenEnergyFutures.ca

The Energy Futures Lab is like a breath of fresh air in today’s polarized world, where meaningful discussions about real-world problems are scarce. Every year, they invite 40 talented individuals from various fields to join their mission and tackle some of the most challenging issues facing us, like how to get Alberta to net-zero emissions. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, we caught up with Maureen Kolla from the Energy Futures Lab and Tristan Walker, an energy consultant who’s part of the 40 fellows in 2024. Tristan is part of the Albertas Electricity Future group which is head up by Maureen Kolla and they recently released a vision for Alberta’s electricity future, and we’re excited to share it with you!

GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Podcast

Learn more at GreenEnergyFutures.ca

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Get totally TRUCKED UP!

Simon Lindley, fed up with the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) surrounding electric vehicle (EV) trucks, decided to take matters into his own hands. He launched the Trucked Up EVs YouTube channel, where he’s on a mission to test the limits of these electric beasts, evaluate the charging infrastructure across Canada, and debunk some myths.

I caught up with Simon at the very beginning of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. He was plugged into a BC Hydro DC Fast Charging station, charging his Ford F-150 Lightning at lightning speed.

To truly understand the pros, cons, and challenges of touring with an EV truck, Simon embarked on an epic 24,000-kilometer cross-country adventure. He’s testing the limits of his EV, exploring the charging landscape across every province, and engaging with his viewers in local coffee shops to discuss the future of electric vehicles.

This is Green Energy Futures’ David Dodge’s full interview with Simon (35 minutes).

Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our channel today.

Also, CHECK OUT OUR VIDEO feature (8 minutes) at https://youtu.be/sPgpl_qJwJk

AND our short video (1 minute) at https://youtube.com/shorts/j9jWfk99z_k.

For more IN-DEPTH CONTENT, visit GreenEnergyFutures.ca, where you’ll find our collection of 400 micro-documentaries.

I met Simon Lindley at Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. His passion for EV trucks inspired him to create a YouTube Channel called Trucked Up EVs to look into the good, the bad and the ugly of EV Trucks. He has a passion for busting myths and had just wrapped up a cross Canada tour on which he tested the limits of his Ford F150 Lightning and took stock on the charging infrastructure from province to province.

GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Podcast

Subscribe today! And see our blog at GreenEnergyFutures.ca

In a recent episode we talked to Jeremy Kureluk of Rental Bus Lines about how much they like their electric buses and how they hoped one day to connect them to a virtual power plant to feed electricity to the grid. Turns out this is already happening in Canada.

Rob Safrata owns a tour bus company and he too wants to go electric. So he started FUSE Power Management, based in Vancouver, to set up the infrastruture and contracts needed to use electric buses as virtual power plants which would make going electric even more lucrative.

Peaking power is valuable and fleets of electric buses that are parked during the evening peak electricity period could make revenue helping the grid when it needs electricity.

GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Podcast

See blog at GreenEnergyFutures.ca to learn more or subscribe to our video podcast on YouTube.

The wheels on this electric bus have been going around and around since 2017. We talk to Jeremy Kureluk of Rental Bus Lines based in Stony Plain, Alberta about owning and operating an electric school bus in the cold Canadian north.

Turns out they love their electric buses and want more. We dive into all the questions you might have including range, winter performance, maintenance, and more.

GreenEnergyFutures.ca CKUA.com Pocast