Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
39 months until Notley is out of a job...
39 months until Notley is out of a job...
The Official Contempt for Alberta Thread
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Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
Gee that SOUNDS cool, but 40% load in the hopes of 20% "someday" is fluff. If they truly wanted to get away from coal, 100% NG peak plants are the truly "green" route and off the shelf technology with no need to "hope" for better more efficient coal fired power.
Re: Transcanada shrinking, resigns to more modest developments
TransCanada dismissed whistleblower. Then their pipeline blew up.
TransCanada Corp put “substandard materials” - made by Quebec manufacturing company, Ezeflow - in an Alberta natural gas pipeline that blew up in 2013, Canada’s pipeline regulator said on Friday as it finally responded to a four-year old warning from a whistleblower with a new industry-wide safety order.
The order gives all Canadian pipeline companies under federal jurisdiction 60 days to identify whether any of their pipelines are using specific types of pipeline fittings, made by Ezeflow in Quebec as well as fittings by Canadoil Asia produced in Thailand, that were flagged for safety reasons. The order also requires the companies to submit mitigation plans to address potential weaknesses.
With the order, the regulator, the Calgary-based National Energy Board, confirmed that the whistleblower, former TransCanada engineer Evan Vokes, had correctly identified a safety issue that contributed to a rupture within a few hundred metres of a hunting cabin owned by a Cree family in northern Alberta.
“This isn't anything that we sat on," said NEB spokesman Darin Barter. "These are complex matters and we’re taking action now."
Ezeflow, which has been featured in advertising campaigns promoting jobs from the oil sands by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, as well as an ad promoting Calgary-based TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline, said it disagrees with some parts of the Board’s safety order that allege its own staff and TransCanada’s staff didn't verify the wall thickness of fittings which allegedly failed in the rupture. TransCanada said in a statement that it would comply with the order, noting that it was already following safety rules and using adequate materials.
Although Vokes put his warnings about the weak fittings in a formal complaint, sent in May 2012 to the regulator, the NEB had always denied that the whistleblower's warnings represented an imminent threat to public safety, It still maintains, despite the rupture, that there was never any threat. Vokes said the family that owned the hunting cabin were lucky they were not around at the time of the explosion.
“It was only an act of God that multiple members of the (Cree) family didn't wind up in a barbecue,” said Vokes, who lost his job at TransCanada after he approached the regulator with his safety allegations. “The (pipeline safety) code requires that gas pipelines have fracture toughness. They have to have it and as soon as you have that… it stops little holes from becoming big holes.”
He said this incident also shows that the public should be skeptical about trusting the NEB to oversee safe pipeline operations, noting that they have failed to enforce existing provisions of pipeline regulations that require companies to have adequate quality control programs as well as safety code rules that require materials to be resistant to fractures.
Barter said the regulator is being proactive by taking action, even though it believes there is no “imminent” threat.
He added that the NEB plans to ask the Canadian Standards Association before the end of February to adopt tougher standards in its pipeline safety code. When asked if TransCanada could face any sanctions, related to the rupture, Barter said the NEB was closing its investigation and would not issue a report since the Transportation Safety Board of Canada was the lead investigator.
Under Canada’s pipeline safety rules, the line operator is responsible for ensuring quality of its materials, and not the manufacturer.
"TransCanada shares the NEB’s emphasis on pipeline safety and will respond to this overall industry order," said TransCanada spokesman Mark Cooper in an email. "All materials used in TransCanada’s pipelines meet or exceed regulatory standards. We will provide the information they requested from us and all operators."
He added that TransCanada has continuously improved its safety oversight, while using its experiences as learning opportunities to achieve a goal of eliminating all incidents.
Pierre Latendresse, the president of Ezeflow, a company with about 200 employees that is based in Granby, Quebec, east of Montreal, said the safety order would affect about 60 pipeline fittings, a small fraction of the company’s total production. But he noted that the company has a good record of producing quality materials for 40 years.
“It (the safety order) certainly has an impact on our reputation,” Latendresse said in an interview. “They’re saying that we did not check the wall thickness. This is disputable… It’s a question of interpretation. When we make fittings, we check the wall thickness before we make the (fittings). So it’s ridiculous to say something like that (NEB statement).”
Ezeflow’s name was left out of a Transportation Safety Board of Canada report from 2015 on the 2013 rupture, and company officials said they were initially told by regulators that their name would be kept out of investigation reports. So they said they were surprised to be identified in the safety order on Friday.
It could cause some embarrassment for the oil patch that has used the Quebec company in recent advertising as it seeks to promote the economic benefits of expanding production in the oil sands industry. In one commercial, created by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Latendresse is featured mentioning that his company’s own employees believe that “every fitting is a piece of art and we take great pride in what we’re doing.”
The new NEB safety order also noted that similar pipeline fittings problems with Canadoil were flagged in earlier safety advisories by both U.S. and Canadian regulators in recent years.
TransCanada dismissed whistleblower. Then their pipeline blew up. | National Observer
TransCanada dismissed whistleblower. Then their pipeline blew up.
TransCanada Corp put “substandard materials” - made by Quebec manufacturing company, Ezeflow - in an Alberta natural gas pipeline that blew up in 2013, Canada’s pipeline regulator said on Friday as it finally responded to a four-year old warning from a whistleblower with a new industry-wide safety order.
The order gives all Canadian pipeline companies under federal jurisdiction 60 days to identify whether any of their pipelines are using specific types of pipeline fittings, made by Ezeflow in Quebec as well as fittings by Canadoil Asia produced in Thailand, that were flagged for safety reasons. The order also requires the companies to submit mitigation plans to address potential weaknesses.
With the order, the regulator, the Calgary-based National Energy Board, confirmed that the whistleblower, former TransCanada engineer Evan Vokes, had correctly identified a safety issue that contributed to a rupture within a few hundred metres of a hunting cabin owned by a Cree family in northern Alberta.
“This isn't anything that we sat on," said NEB spokesman Darin Barter. "These are complex matters and we’re taking action now."
Ezeflow, which has been featured in advertising campaigns promoting jobs from the oil sands by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, as well as an ad promoting Calgary-based TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline, said it disagrees with some parts of the Board’s safety order that allege its own staff and TransCanada’s staff didn't verify the wall thickness of fittings which allegedly failed in the rupture. TransCanada said in a statement that it would comply with the order, noting that it was already following safety rules and using adequate materials.
Although Vokes put his warnings about the weak fittings in a formal complaint, sent in May 2012 to the regulator, the NEB had always denied that the whistleblower's warnings represented an imminent threat to public safety, It still maintains, despite the rupture, that there was never any threat. Vokes said the family that owned the hunting cabin were lucky they were not around at the time of the explosion.
“It was only an act of God that multiple members of the (Cree) family didn't wind up in a barbecue,” said Vokes, who lost his job at TransCanada after he approached the regulator with his safety allegations. “The (pipeline safety) code requires that gas pipelines have fracture toughness. They have to have it and as soon as you have that… it stops little holes from becoming big holes.”
He said this incident also shows that the public should be skeptical about trusting the NEB to oversee safe pipeline operations, noting that they have failed to enforce existing provisions of pipeline regulations that require companies to have adequate quality control programs as well as safety code rules that require materials to be resistant to fractures.
Barter said the regulator is being proactive by taking action, even though it believes there is no “imminent” threat.
He added that the NEB plans to ask the Canadian Standards Association before the end of February to adopt tougher standards in its pipeline safety code. When asked if TransCanada could face any sanctions, related to the rupture, Barter said the NEB was closing its investigation and would not issue a report since the Transportation Safety Board of Canada was the lead investigator.
Under Canada’s pipeline safety rules, the line operator is responsible for ensuring quality of its materials, and not the manufacturer.
"TransCanada shares the NEB’s emphasis on pipeline safety and will respond to this overall industry order," said TransCanada spokesman Mark Cooper in an email. "All materials used in TransCanada’s pipelines meet or exceed regulatory standards. We will provide the information they requested from us and all operators."
He added that TransCanada has continuously improved its safety oversight, while using its experiences as learning opportunities to achieve a goal of eliminating all incidents.
Pierre Latendresse, the president of Ezeflow, a company with about 200 employees that is based in Granby, Quebec, east of Montreal, said the safety order would affect about 60 pipeline fittings, a small fraction of the company’s total production. But he noted that the company has a good record of producing quality materials for 40 years.
“It (the safety order) certainly has an impact on our reputation,” Latendresse said in an interview. “They’re saying that we did not check the wall thickness. This is disputable… It’s a question of interpretation. When we make fittings, we check the wall thickness before we make the (fittings). So it’s ridiculous to say something like that (NEB statement).”
Ezeflow’s name was left out of a Transportation Safety Board of Canada report from 2015 on the 2013 rupture, and company officials said they were initially told by regulators that their name would be kept out of investigation reports. So they said they were surprised to be identified in the safety order on Friday.
It could cause some embarrassment for the oil patch that has used the Quebec company in recent advertising as it seeks to promote the economic benefits of expanding production in the oil sands industry. In one commercial, created by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Latendresse is featured mentioning that his company’s own employees believe that “every fitting is a piece of art and we take great pride in what we’re doing.”
The new NEB safety order also noted that similar pipeline fittings problems with Canadoil were flagged in earlier safety advisories by both U.S. and Canadian regulators in recent years.
TransCanada dismissed whistleblower. Then their pipeline blew up. | National Observer
Re: Transcanada shrinking, resigns to more modest developments
Oh lovely.
Thanks TransCanada.
And then they wonder why they can't get pipelines approved.
Oh lovely.
Thanks TransCanada.
And then they wonder why they can't get pipelines approved.
Re: Transcanada shrinking, resigns to more modest developments
And people wonder why E Canadian foundries can't regain their market share?
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
Could be. But the Germans have another motive for going green and that is to cut off their dependency on energy sources from energy blackmailers like Russia. Germany has its own coal, so that makes it a more dependable source of backup power.
Could be. But the Germans have another motive for going green and that is to cut off their dependency on energy sources from energy blackmailers like Russia. Germany has its own coal, so that makes it a more dependable source of backup power.
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
Wildrose and PC are splitting the vote right now.
Wildrose and PC are splitting the vote right now.
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
Yup, that's the key. Coal is cheap and dependable. Currently, there is no realistic alternatives. Only an ideologue would suggest otherwise. Hopefully the damage Notley does in the next three years is easily reversible
Yup, that's the key. Coal is cheap and dependable. Currently, there is no realistic alternatives. Only an ideologue would suggest otherwise. Hopefully the damage Notley does in the next three years is easily reversible
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
Ideally you want to get rid of coal for environmental (and health related) reasons, but it all depends on how you want to achieve emissions reductions for your jurisdiction.
Ideally you want to get rid of coal for environmental (and health related) reasons, but it all depends on how you want to achieve emissions reductions for your jurisdiction.
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
The Germans got all uber-p*ssy about nuclear power because of Fukushima and this is the route they've chosen to take.
The problem is, you forget to mention how much of that coal-fired generation will be coming from lignite. And for every lignite strip mining operation, there's a coal-fired power plant next to it. Entire towns and villages sitting on top of large lignite deposits will be re-located, as they were in the past. Lignite is also the dirtiest source of fuel there is.
The Germans got all uber-p*ssy about nuclear power because of Fukushima and this is the route they've chosen to take.
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
Umm - I believe that lignite is coal, so exactly what did I forget?
Umm - I believe that lignite is coal, so exactly what did I forget?
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
The problem with coal fired plants is the ash that is left behind. In nature the ash after a forest fire sterilizes the soil and hopefully useful plants spring up before the weeds do. The solution would seem to be to apply it in areas where fires have already gone through or at the least use it in clear cut areas to help retard the weeds getting a head start on growing over the plants that make the forest useful for a timber harvest at some point in the future.
The problem with coal fired plants is the ash that is left behind. In nature the ash after a forest fire sterilizes the soil and hopefully useful plants spring up before the weeds do. The solution would seem to be to apply it in areas where fires have already gone through or at the least use it in clear cut areas to help retard the weeds getting a head start on growing over the plants that make the forest useful for a timber harvest at some point in the future.
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
This time we put the horse behind the buggy as that methane can get bothersome after a few miles of having it hit you in the face from close range.
This time we put the horse behind the buggy as that methane can get bothersome after a few miles of having it hit you in the face from close range.
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
In fact, so far there's plans to relocate two villages/towns in their entirety to get at the lignite deposits below them.
One of the leaders in "green" energy and they're resorting to dirty brown coal because they pussed out on nuclear power. A country that "demonized" Canada's oil sands. What a joke. And people don't think the Germans have a sense of humour.
That it's the dirtiest fuel source there is and it's dug out of massive open pit mines.
In fact, so far there's plans to relocate two villages/towns in their entirety to get at the lignite deposits below them.
One of the leaders in "green" energy and they're resorting to dirty brown coal because they pussed out on nuclear power. A country that "demonized" Canada's oil sands. What a joke. And people don't think the Germans have a sense of humour.
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
Someday that coal will be consumed for graphene and the nano carbon future we've all read about in Popular Mechanics.
Someday that coal will be consumed for graphene and the nano carbon future we've all read about in Popular Mechanics.
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
Lignite is no good for anything but burning. It can't be safely stored nor safely transported any real distance. That's why there's a coal-fired power plant right beside every lignite mine.
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
I think AB has bituminous and sub-bituminous. SK has the lignite. In SK coal is burned in the southeast where the mines are closer to US customers.
I think AB has bituminous and sub-bituminous. SK has the lignite. In SK coal is burned in the southeast where the mines are closer to US customers.
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
you come across as a real downer,
find something nice to say,
or do a trucker long haul route and see if you feel better.
I think the financial cost to Canadians should be discussed with the energy east pipeline,
in the end,Canadians will recognize we are being hosed big time,
in the end,agendas will be fullfilled,
i figure the masterminds of the energy east pipeling are using Canadians as lobbyists,making fools out of people like me.
Boomer,if only I could hear,read some optimism out of your mouth.
you come across as a real downer,
find something nice to say,
or do a trucker long haul route and see if you feel better.
you must be in bed by now walter,sweet dreams!
I think the financial cost to Canadians should be discussed with the energy east pipeline,
in the end,Canadians will recognize we are being hosed big time,
in the end,agendas will be fullfilled,
i figure the masterminds of the energy east pipeling are using Canadians as lobbyists,making fools out of people like me.
Re: Alberta's coal phase-out: How the province plans to kick carbon to the curb
So what? You are trying to derail the thread by taking it in a different direction. My post pointed out that the Germans are tying to move away from fossil fuels and only used coal as a back up. So far nothing you have posted disproves that. Of course lignite is dirty - that is why Germany has constructed so many solar and wind facilities.
So what? You are trying to derail the thread by taking it in a different direction. My post pointed out that the Germans are tying to move away from fossil fuels and only used coal as a back up. So far nothing you have posted disproves that. Of course lignite is dirty - that is why Germany has constructed so many solar and wind facilities.