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Illustration by Luke Lucas

Energy

Powered Up

When you hit the switch, the lights have to come on. Read about the challenge of powering the next generation

By Therese Kehler

May 03, 2019 • 10 minute read

The kingdom of Queen Elizabeth I was humming along quite nicely when, around the mid-1500s, Her Majesty caught wind of an environmental crisis in the offing. The forests were disappearing.

Wood was the first energy source and had been so for millenniums. But kilns of industry and hearths of homes had been eating up the English forests at an alarming rate and it became evident all this building and burning might leave the nation without enough for another critical product: its warships.

The monarchy declared that coal shall be burned and the kingdom made it so.

Not easily, of course. There were fears and protests and new challenges. Someone had to figure out how to get the coal into the cities. Homeowners had to maintain their chimneys - an added expense. And there were health risks, too. Coal mine explosions, choking smoke in the air and a nightmare-inducing malady called soot warts, a type of cancer caused by the accumulation of ash in the undergarments of chimney sweeps.

But people adapted, even flourished. Within 300 years, the switch to coal set the stage for electricity and an improved quality of life. Today, Canadians have light at the flip of a switch, life‑supporting medical equipment and everyday comforts that we have come to rely on - cold beer and Netflix, anyone? - all indirectly brought to us by a 16th-century monarch.

But what is the long-term effect of our standard of living?

Canadians are voracious energy consumers, and every year we're using more. Between 1990 and 2015, the nation's energy consumption grew by 30 per cent - and we're not alone. Globally, consumption increased by 2.1 per cent in 2017.

Wonder if the trend will continue? Look around. Population growth is an obvious factor; the United Nations estimates Canada's population will increase by 21 per cent to 45 million by 2050. Economic growth is also key, especially in countries like China and India where energy use is skyrocketing. And don't discount the impact of our beloved gadgets: data centres and data transmission networks each account for about 1 per cent of global electricity demand. And what about a future that includes electric vehicles charging in every driveway?

It's not sustainable.

All that burning - coal, now joined by oil and gas - has fired up another environmental situation. Call it greenhouse gases, CO2 emissions or climate change, this time it's the atmosphere at risk, and the next energy transition lies in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels for energy. Not because we're going to run out of fossil fuels; our time to address the effects of climate change will run out before the hydrocarbons do, says Larry Kostiuk, '85 MSc, inaugural director of the university's Future Energy Systems research initiative. "The Stone Age didn't come to an end because we ran out of stones. The hydrocarbon age is not going to end with running out of hydrocarbons."

The conundrum is clear. We need cleaner energy sources but the supply, so crucial to our lives and economy, mustn't be disrupted in the process.

This is what drives the more than 800 U of A researchers and thousands of students working to solve energy challenges. They are making solar and wind power easier to store. Cleaner processes for the oil and gas industry. Computers that use less energy. An electrical grid that isn't so leaky. Each small project creates a bigger picture: a future where energy is produced sustainably, reliably and efficiently.

Change is hard. Burning hydrocarbons might not be good for the environment but at least we know how it works. The future, though, is a work in progress, a confusing mishmash of energy sources. Hard, yes. And a bit scary, too.

"What are the problems? What are the issues? How am I going to actually learn all these things that I need to learn?" says Anne Naeth, '76 BSc, '85 MSc, '88 PhD, reeling off the reactions of average folk. People really want to understand what will happen. But if they don't, that's when they get anxious.

Naeth, a land reclamation scientist, succeeded Kostiuk in August as director of Future Energy Systems, the $75-million, seven-year, cross-campus research initiative, federally funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. The group's mandate is to develop the energy technologies of the near future and figure out how to integrate them into today's social, economic and infrastructure realities.

The university has further stepped up to the challenge, naming energy one of its official signature areas of research and teaching, with Naeth as the director. After all, the U of A has long had a focus on energy research - perhaps most notably in the 1920s when researcher Karl Clark dumped oily sand, hot water and caustic soda into an old-fashioned washing machine. His experiments eventually unlocked Alberta's oilsands.

So, what does the future of energy look like to the woman at its forefront? "You'll get some of your energy from solar and you'll get some of your energy from wind," Naeth says. "But the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow. We're going to have to have better storage batteries. We're going to have to have a better grid through which we can move this energy."

Underpinning it all, like the safety net to a secure supply, will be fossil fuels.

"Oil and gas are going to have a future. But that's not the question we should be asking," says Peter Tertzakian, '82 BSc(Spec), an economist, author and public speaker on future energy issues. "We get too hung up in trying to predict [whether] we're going to use 100 million barrels a day, or 90, or 80. It doesn't matter. It's just a huge amount. It's a ridiculously unsustainable problem when it comes to emissions. The better question is … who is going to be the most efficient supplier?"

Then he lobs the ball into another court. "And how are we going to use it more efficiently?"

When Larry Kostiuk launches into his narrative about the history of energy, he starts at the beginning. It quickly becomes clear that this is a story he has told often - and one that he needs people to hear.

In his telling, this is not just a story of wood and coal, steam and horses. It's a story of curiosity, innovation, comfort and desire. It's a story of people as energy consumers. The first human need, he says, is warmth. The second is light. The third? "The innate laziness of mankind," says Kostiuk with a mischievous grin.

Tertzakian observes the same human propensity, if not for laziness, at least for making life easier. Consider how far removed we now are from our energy. Once upon a time, heating our homes meant finding the wood, chopping the wood, getting it into the stove and lighting it. Now we adjust the thermostat. No wonder we take energy for granted. Even a few years ago, we would have at least had to write a cheque to the utility company. How can we be aware of our environmental impact, Tertzakian wonders, if we don't even go through the motions of paying the bill?

If we were paying attention, though, we might notice that things have been getting cheaper over the last decade.

The energy industry is in what Tertzakian calls an era of abundance; oil and gas companies are more efficient at getting products out of the ground. Lower prices, as anyone in Alberta can tell you, can hurt the economy. The drop in oil prices has contributed to a dramatic increase in the length of unemployment in the province, which has tripled in the last 10 years.

Tertzakian points to another effect of this abundance: consumer trends. Seventy per cent of all vehicles purchased in Canada are trucks or SUVs, which emit significantly more CO2 than a small Toyota car. "And not even a hybrid one," he emphasizes. "This is a social issue. This is based on consumer behaviour. But who is going to implement policy … that says you can't buy a pickup truck? Politicians, they're not going to touch it. Because if they do, they're going to get voted out."

If consumers aren't changing, it becomes even more vital to ensure the energy we use is cleaner and more efficient. Solving these challenges will require people, research and fresh perspectives.

Anne Naeth deals with a lot of pointed questions. Will people lose jobs? Will everyone need an electric car? Will the old appliances still work? Will this affect my life?

And those are just the ones from her mom.

Mary Naeth is 86 and lives on a farm near Paradise Hill, Sask., a village of roughly 500 people just northeast of Lloydminster. It's also a place where the power, too often, is out.

In answering this barrage of questions, Naeth would tell her mom about localized power sources like wind or solar or geothermal, and super‑duper batteries that will store energy until needed. She paints a picture of a world with fewer centralized power plants and fewer electricity outages due to a downed transmission line kilometres from her mom's farm. It all sounded very familiar to Mary. "And she said, 'Oh, so it's just kind of like back when we got the generator,' " Naeth says with a smile. "So we've gone full circle. And my mom made that connection."

We're all going to need to use our imaginations when it comes to how society will change along with the energy sources. In five, 10 or 20 years, we won't have centralized systems in which the energy flows in one direction, but multiple systems in which individuals are both consuming and producing energy. Will this mean that urban downtowns densify? Or will the prospect of reliable, localized energy encourage the proliferation of smaller, remote communities? Will everyone have a car? Or will ride‑hailing become the norm?

"Our communities might need to be organized in entirely new ways, around social and environmental sustainability, instead of around the easy flow of traffic and consumer goods," says Sheena Wilson, '98 BA, '06 PhD, a co-lead of the energy humanities theme of Future Energy Systems. "We can ask ourselves all sorts of questions about why we live the way we live, and if changing the way we access energy will change everything."

In other words, by looking ahead and envisioning future challenges, we can start now to figure out the best way to address them.

At the centre of this energy transition is knowledge, or the lack of it. For researchers and thinkers at the U of A, it's a matter of tackling those questions one project at a time.

Perhaps the true future of energy, says Kostiuk, lies with the 1,000 grad students who will work in Future Energy Systems and beyond. Mechanical engineers talking to land reclamation practitioners. Mining engineers talking to political scientists. Assuming each student goes on to a 40-year career in energy, that adds up to 40,000 total years of work that will stem from the university's investment in energy.

"That will leave a mark," Kostiuk says with a smile.

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Did You Know
Uphill Racer
false
Profile
PhD Prize Money
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Health
Understanding Addiction: Five Fundamental Facts
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Thesis
I Can Do Whatever I Want
Aerial photo of a combine harvester in a rapeseed field
Feature
Rubik’s Food
Photo of the Rideau Canal in Ottawa on a nice, summer day, Canada Geese on the water in the foreground, buildings and blue sky in the background
Living
Happy Cities
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2024 Distinguished Alumni Award
A Lawyer for the People
Photo of Colin Baril at an alumni art tour event
Profile
Five Things I’ve Learned About Making Connections Count
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Profile
Six Things I’ve Learned About Careers
One yellow piggy bank in a group of purple piggy banks
Money
Five Things I Learned About Managing My Money
Taylor McPherson and Katie Mulkay
Profile
Five Things We Learned Competing in The Amazing Race Canada
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Continuing Education
Winning Actually Isn’t Everything
false
Alumni Impact 2024
Playing With Food, Seriously
Grads Matt and Jalene Anderson-Baron sitting at a table and looking at a laptop
Alumni Impact 2024
Thinking Tiny to Go Big
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Did You Know
What’s Up With Quantum Science?
An illustrated silhouette of a human head surrounded by stylized electronic waves
Discovery
AI Research in Action
a photo of Deena Hinshaw
2023 Distinguished Alumni Award
Calm in the Eye of the Pandemic Storm
a photo of Gordon Wilkes
2023 Distinguished Alumni Award
He Helped Give Patients Confidence to Face the World
Colourful grid of different coloured bananas
Did You Know
Does ChatGPT Really Understand Us?
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Just for Fun
How to Tell a Terrifying Tale
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Health
Breaking the Silence on Hearing Loss
Lazina Mckenzie at a November Project workout
Health
How to Become a Morning Exercise Person in Any Season
false
Profile
Nine Questions With Your New Alumni Association President
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Thesis
Reading, Riding and Arithmetic
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Feature
Why You Should Care About Small Molecule Drugs
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Tiny
What Is the Smallest Small?
Helping child to read
How-to
How to Help a Child Read Better
false
Tiny
Teeny Words Expose Societal Changes
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Health
One Small Step
false
Distinguished Alumni Award
Scientist-Entrepreneur Creates Drug Molecules That Can Change Lives
false
Profile
Five Things I’ve Learned About Preserving Indigenous Languages
false
Thesis
It Lies in the Making
false
Continuing Education
A Matter of Meat
false
At Work
How to Manage Imposter Syndrome
false
Thesis
Linger In the In-Between
false
Society
‘We Can Hear the Fighting From Afar’’
false
Society
Pitch Perfect
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Society
5 Things I've Learned About Black History on the Prairies
false
Living
Let It Snow
false
Discovery
What Has a Nobel Prize Ever Done For You?
false
Relationships
Friends Forever
false
Thesis
Route of Memory
false
In Memoriam
To My Unknown Friend
false
Living
How to Be Media Literate
false
At Home
What Is the Pandemic Doing to My Young Child?
false
Continuing Education
Don't Be Boring!
false
Environment
The Future of Farming is Smarter
false
Discovery
A Nobel Search
false
Environment
How to Fashion a Sustainable Future
false
Living
See Spot Cope
false
New Trail 100
Lawnmowers and Rabbits: A Tale of Progress
false
New Trail 100
Then and Now: Discoveries That Keep on Giving
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Health
In Conversation: Michael Houghton
false
New Trail 100
Mystery on Campus
false
Alumni Awards
Stanley Read Brought Compassion to Families Living with HIV/AIDS
false
At Work
How To Network
false
Thesis
Wrong Way, Again
false
At Work
Rethink Your Next Job Interview
false
Discovery
COVID-19-Fighting Tools
false
Environment
Renewable Energy Myths, Busted
false
Profile
Coming Home
false
Just For Fun
A Great Catch
false
Feature
The Virus of Social Unrest
false
Commentary
Reflections on Flight PS752
false
Money
The Dos and Don’ts of Investing After a Market Crash
false
Alumni Recommend
Feed Your Inner, Isolated Art Lover
false
At Work
Business As Unusual
false
At Work
When the Lectern Is in the Living Room
false
At Home
Tips to Help School Your Kids at Home
false
How-to
Support Your Kids During the COVID-19 Pandemic
false
In Memoriam
‘He Was One of a Kind’
false
Thesis
When Your Thoughts Run Away With You
false
Feature
Cinnamon Buns: A Love Story
false
Did You Know
What Baseball Fights Tell Us About Ourselves
false
Commentary
Opining the Opinions
false
Thesis
Seen One, Seen ’Em All
false
Thesis
More Than the Sum of Your Parts
false
Thesis
Whole Medicines
false
Environment
Tips to Free You From Plastic
false
Just For Fun
Are You a Sucker for Pseudoscience?
false
Energy
From Research to Reality
false
Energy
Lost in Transmission
Energy
Decontaminate Water With Chicken Feathers
false
Energy
Reworking the Flywheel for Better Energy Storage
false
Just for Fun
How to Start a Podcast
false
Health
New Food Labels Will Help You Choose
false
Just For Fun
How to Find a Great Podcast
false
Just For Fun
How to Skate Like Connor McDavid
false
Did You Know
How to Feed Your Inner Genealogist
false
Just For Fun
How to Make a Paper Airplane to Challenge Your Assumptions
false
Did You Know
How to Take Part in a Round Dance
false
Living
How to See Like an Artist
false
Relationships
How to Avoid Death by Small Talk
false
Health
Sugar Highs Are Not a Real Thing
false
Continuing Education
That Time I Enrolled in a Community
false
Thesis
Good News for Picky Eaters
Alumni Awards
For being a coach and a leader
false
Thesis
Deserts and Swamps
false
Just For Fun
Registration Woes
false
Environment
Not a Drop Wasted
false
At Home
How to Hang Art Like a Boss
false
Thesis
Your Tech, Your Self
false
Thesis
When Medicine Is Designed Just for You
false
Trails
In Lister Town
false
Feature
The Advance of AI: Should We Be Worried?
false
Tech
Have You Heard the One About the Robot Comedian?
Tech
Unexpected insights from an AI rock star
false
Trails
Modern Campus Life
false
Tech
Fighting Fire With Data
false
Health
Keeping Gym-Class Dropouts in the Game
false
Living
7 Things You Should Know to Rock Your Look
false
Profile
A Sport Psychologist Was Among the Supporters and Athletes Hurrying Hard in Pyeongchang
false
Health
Clearing the Smoke on Cannabis
false
Feature
Seen/Unseen
Feature
Words and Images
Alumni Awards
For finding new ways to succeed in sports
Alumni Awards
For being a powerful voice for change
Alumni Awards
For Being a Model of Leadership
Alumni Awards
For devoting his life to serving the public
false
Feature
How We Can Work Together
false
Feature
A Hard Walk
false
Feature
Facing the Painful Truth
false
Feature
More From the TRC
false
Commentary
Fake News and Surviving a Post-truth World
false
Society
A Cultural Space in a Natural Place
false
Did You Know
Salt Could Save Lives
false
Health
Research Rises From the Ashes
false
Did You Know
The Power of his Song
false
Health
A Healthier Future for Women and Children Is Closer Than Ever
Did You Know
For the Public Good
false
Tech
Changing the Game: Why Teaching AI to Play is More Than Fun and Games
Discovery
Research in the News
false
News
News Briefs
false
Living
Beyond the Books in Italy
false
Did You Know
Milk in Tea Can Reduce Teeth Stains
false
News
Campus News
false
News
Alumni in the News
false
News
David Turpin Named Next U of A President
News
University Plans Land Trust
News
News Briefs
false
Just For Fun
Hiding and Seeking Fun
Discovery
Research in the News
false
Did You Know
Alumna in Judge's Seat at Olympics
false
Just For Fun
Superlative U
false
Just For Fun
Raise a Glass for the Bears and Pandas
false
Society
The Accidental Protestor
false
Health
New Horizons in Health Care
false
Did You Know
The Alumni Effect
false
Profile
The New Kid on Campus
false
Health
Mastering Health Sciences Education
false
Discovery
Research VP Wins Top Prize
false
Discovery
Water Bearers
false
Relationships
Team Building
Continuing Education
High School Reunion
Society
Biotechnology Meets Art
false
Living
One Village at a Time
Notes
Alumni in Australia
false
News
Ultra-Sonic Performance
false
Discovery
Hot Tip
false
Feature
Easy Rider Endowment
false
Health
Master Mind
false
Discovery
Cell Mates
false
Did You Know
Mission to Mars
false
Discovery
You Do the Math