Climate Leadership Plan is a plan set forth by the Alberta government to combat pollution and climate change. The government’s plan was released in November 2015 following public consultations and a report by the Climate Change Advisory Panel. Contained in the plan are key areas that will be focused on including; carbon pricing, coal & electricity, emissions from the oil sands, methane emissions, financial support for renewable, gas emitters regulations, and the Climate Change and Emissions Management Act (CCEMA).
Increasing price of carbon is a governmental disincentive for industry to step away from carbon intensive practices. This is aimed at encouraging innovation to produce solutions to reduce carbon emissions. Coal will be phased out by 2030 and replaced with renewable alternatives. The oil sands will have a limit put on the amount of emissions that can generate per year; currently there is no limit. This, similar to the increased carbon price, will be a disincentive for the oil sands to use carbon intensive practices and will hopefully drive them towards innovative practices that reduce emissions. An overall reduction methane emissions from oil and gas of 45% by 2025 is the aim for methane reduction.
Financial support for renewables as well as the CCEMA plan will drive forward change that will set the foundations for future generations’ energy network.
The Ulysses system nicely fits into a number of these categories and can be a significant contributor to a new energy paradigm. The Ulysses will generate thousands of carbon offsets per year that can be sold into the carbon market. In order to properly phase out coal by 2030 an alternative for baseline power requirements is needed and the Ulysses system can be a part of this by producing electrical and thermal energy through the pyrolysis process. Methane emissions are produced during the natural decomposition of material in landfills and by adding biochar (the end product of the Ulysses system) to the alternate daily cover on landfills methane will be absorbed and removed from the atmosphere.
Financial support for municipalities, landfills, and waste haulers to purchase and implement the Ulysses system throughout Alberta would be a tremendous step towards developing this technology as a viable contributor to the government of Alberta’s goals. Finally, the main tenants of the CCEMA plan revolve around emission offsets, improving processes, emissions performance credits, or fund credits paid into the CCEMF. The Ulysses can play a part in these areas by providing improved processes for utilizing waste and sequestering carbon and other greenhouse gases, by providing offsets for the carbon market and by receiving support from the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund for sites throughout Alberta utilizing a Ulysses system.
There is no immediate solution, but IRSI and the Ulysses system are keen to take the first steps towards improving our world for future generations! Come be a part of the of the solution!