ASET Technology Alberta Fall 2020 - 17
feature
Smart cities are more than just sensors
and scanners; the communities that
make up their fabric need to be built for
the future.
Image courtesy of Blatchford
Development.
Dodge was the keynote speaker at the 2019 coal forum in
Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Initially taken aback by the
event organizers' request to have him, Dodge quickly observed that the hunger for future-facing urban solutions at
the event was the same as anywhere else.
"They're just as interested as people in Drayton Valley, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Halifax, wherever you happen
to come from, in finding that brighter future that, yes, hopefully helps us solve some of these climate change issues,
but actually builds a better place to live."
Despite the interest coming from multiple places, there are
plenty of hurdles to hop around when explaining newer energy systems and approaches. One of the most challenging
aspects of building Blatchford, for instance, has centred on
its most fascinating feature: the DESS. Lumsden says the
reason for the added challenge is the system's novelty.
"That's been one of the one of the bigger challenges in
terms of developing this land, because it is a unique system. It's different," he says. "You're not using gas like 90%
or close to 100% of Albertans do to heat your home. Here
you're using warm water and a heat pump. So that's been
one of the biggest challenges, is convincing people this system is the right way to go."
Varghese says these difficulties extend to any new technology or approach when it comes to urban design.
"These are not things that are standard, kind of the state
of Edmonton," she says. "All municipalities have a standard
infrastructure design, and so anytime you go outside of that
standard, it is challenging just because people aren't used
to it and people don't know if that works."
Once enough people get on board with a new state or design, the results can be astounding. The power grid in Germany is proof of this concept.
Renewable energy from wind and solar have provided 55.8
per cent of Germany's power generation already in 2020.
Impressive on its own, this number is even more remarkable
when considering the country has one of the most reliable
grid systems in the world.
An article from Clean Energy Wire reports that "Germany's
security of supply is among the best in Europe, according to
the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER)."
The article points to a CEER report looking at 2016 supply
interruptions to the grid, Germany's averaging 13.3 minutes.
"Globally, Germany also fares very well," the article continues. "US citizens on average went without power for an average of almost eight hours in 2017, according to the US
Energy Information Agency (EIA)."
Despite the obstacles urban planners face in implementing
future-driven solutions, Germany is a living proof of concept. Dodge says in Canadian cities, too, these solutions
are inevitable. He predicts a future where the cost of carbon coupled with impending climate change are the perfect
storm leading to these drastic adjustments to urban living.
"We need to have low emissions or
no emission transportation, we need
to have low or no emission buildings.
And so all of these factors together will
drive it, almost with certainty. And it's
just a question of how long it takes."
TECHNOLOGY ALBERTA | FALL 2020 | 17
ASET Technology Alberta Fall 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASET Technology Alberta Fall 2020
ASET Technology Alberta Fall 2020 - Cover1
ASET Technology Alberta Fall 2020 - Cover2
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ASET Technology Alberta Fall 2020 - Cover3
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