Power lines needed to prevent blackouts

Freedom Cannabis solar array powers an Acheson cannabis facility with 4,574 rooftop panels, a 1,830-kilowatt system by Enmax, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, lowering energy costs, and advancing renewable energy, sustainability, and operational efficiency in Edmonton.

Key Points

A 1,830-kW rooftop solar system with 4,574 panels, cutting GHG emissions and energy costs at the Acheson facility.

✅ 1,830-kW array offsets 1,000+ tonnes GHG annually

✅ Supplies ~8% of annual power; saves $200k-$300k per year

✅ 4,574 rooftop panels installed by Enmax in Acheson

Electricity consumption is one of the biggest barriers to going green in the cannabis industry, where the energy demands of cannabis cultivation often complicate sustainability, but an Edmonton-area pot producer has come up with a sunny solution.

Freedom Cannabis unveiled the largest rooftop solar system used by a cannabis facility in Canada at its 126,000-square foot Acheson location, 20 kilometres west of Edmonton, as solar power in Alberta continues to surge, on Tuesday.

The "state-of-the-art" 1,830-kilowatt solar array—made up of 4,574 panels—was supplied by Enmax and will offset more than 1,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year, reflecting how new Alberta solar facilities are undercutting natural gas on price, the company said.

The state-of-the-art solar array—made up of 4,574 panels—was supplied by Enmax and will offset more than 1,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions at Freedom Cannabis every year. Nov. 12, 2019. (Freedom Cannabis)

That will supply roughly eight per cent of the building's annual power consumption and reduce costs by $200,000 to $300,000 annually.

"This strategy will supplement our operating costs for power by up to eight to 10 per cent, so it is something that in time will save us costs on power requirements," said Troy Dezwart, co-founder of Freedom Cannabis.

Dezwart said sustainability was an important issue to the company from its outset, aligning with an Alberta renewable energy surge that is expected to power thousands of jobs.

"We're fortunate enough to be able to have these types of options and pursue them," said Dezwart.

The entire system cost Freedom Cannabis $2.6 million to build, but nearly a million of that came from a provincial rebate program that has since been cancelled by the UCP government, even as a federal green electricity deal with an Edmonton company signals ongoing support.

The company cited a 2017 report that found cannabis growers in the U.S. used enough electricity to power 1.7-million homes, and said cannabis-related power consumption is expected to increase by 1,250 per cent in Ontario over the next five years, even though Canadian solar demand has been lagging overall.

“It’s more important than ever for businesses to manage their energy footprint, and solar is an important part of that solution,” Enmax director Jason Atkinson, said. “This solar installation will help reduce operating costs and offset a significant portion of GHG emissions for decades to come.”

Freedom says it has other initiatives underway to reduce its footprint, in a region planning the Edmonton airport solar farm among other projects, including water remediation and offering 100 per cent recyclable cannabis packaging tins.

The company's first crops are expected to go to market in December.

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Smart Meter Texas real-time pricing faces rollback as utilities limit on-demand reads, impacting demand response, home area networks, ERCOT wholesale tracking, and thermostat automation, reducing efficiency gains promised through deregulation and smart meter investments.

Key Points

A plan linking smart meters to ERCOT prices, enabling near real-time usage alignment and automated demand response.

✅ Twice-hourly reads miss 15-minute ERCOT price spikes.

✅ Less than 1% of 7.3M meters use HAN real-time features.

✅ Limits hinder automation for HVAC, EV charging, and pool pumps.

Utilities made a promise several years ago when they built Smart Meter Texas that they’d come up with a way for consumers to monitor their electricity use in real time. But now they’re backing out of the deal with the approval of state regulators, leaving in the lurch retail power companies that are building their business model on the promise of real time pricing and denying consumers another option for managing their electricity costs.

Texas utilities collected higher rates to finance the building of a statewide smart meter network that would allow customers to track their electricity use and the quickly changing prices on wholesale power markets almost as they happened. Some retailers are building electricity plans around this promise, providing customers with in-home devices that would eventually track pricing minute-by-minute and allow them to automatically turn down or shut off air conditioners, pool pumps and energy sucking appliances when prices spiked on hot summer afternoons and turn them back on when they prices fell again.

The idea is to help save consumers money by allowing them to shift their electricity consumption to periods when power is cheaper, typically nights and weekends, even as utility revenue in a free-power era remains a debated topic.

“We’re throwing away a large part of (what) ratepayers paid for,” said John Werner, CEO of GridPlus Texas, one of the companies offering consumers a real-time pricing plan that is scheduled to begin testing next month. “They made the smart meters dumb meters.”

When Smart Meter Texas was launched a decade ago by a consortium of the state’s biggest utilities, it was considered an important part of deregulation. The competitive market for electricity held the promise that consumers would eventually have the technology to control their electricity use through a home area network and cut their power bills.

Regulators and legislators also were enticed by the possibility of making the electric system more efficient and relieving pressure on the power grid as consumers responded to high prices and cut consumption when temperatures soared, with ongoing discussions about Texas grid reliability informing policy choices.

One study found that smart meters coupled with smart real time consumption monitors could reduce electricity use between 3 percent and 5 percent, according to Call Me Power, a website sponsored by the European electricity price shopping service Selectra.

But utilities complained that the home area network devices were expensive to install and not used very often, and, with flat electricity demand weighing on growth, they questioned further investment. CenterPoint manager Esther Floyd Kent filed an affidavit with the commission in May that it costs the utility about $30,000 annually to support the network devices, plus maintenance.

Over a six-year period, CenterPoint paid $124,500, or about $20,000 a year, to maintain the system. As of April, there were only 4,067 network devices in CenterPoint’s service area, meaning the utility pays about $30.70 each year to maintain each device.

Centerpoint last year generated $9.6 billion in revenues and earned a $1.8 billion profit, according to its financial filings. CenterPoint officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Other utilities that are part of the Smart Meter consortium also complained to the Public Utility Commission that, up to now, the system hasn’t developed. All told, Texas has 7.3 million meters connected to Smart Meter Texas, but less than 1 percent are using the networking functions to track real-time prices and consumption, according to the testimony of Donny R. Helm, director of technology strategy and architecture for the state’s largest utility Oncor Electric Delivery Co. in Dallas.

The isssue was resolved recently through a settlement agreement that limits on-demand readings to twice an hour that Smart Meter Texas must provide customers. The price of power changes every 15 minutes, so a twice an hour reading may miss some price spikes.

The Public Utility Commission signed off on the deal, and so did several other groups including several retail electricity providers and the Office of Public Utility Counsel which represents residential customers and small businesses.

Michele Gregg, spokeswoman for the Public Utility Counsel, testified in December that the consumer advocate supported the change because widespread use of the networks never materialized. Catherine Webking, an Austin lawyer who represents the Texas Energy Association for Marketers, a group of retail electric providers, said she believes the deal was a reasonable resolution of providing the benefits of Smart Meter Texas while not incurring too much cost.

But Griddy, an electricity provider that offers customers the opportunity to pay wholesale power prices, which also issued a plea to customers during a price surge, said the state hasn’t given the smart-meter networks a chance and could miss out on its potential. Griddy was counting on the continued adoption of real time pricing as the next step for customers wanting to control their electricity costs.

Right now, Griddy sends out price alerts from the grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas so businesses like hotels can run washers and dryers when electricity prices are cheapest. But the company was counting on a smart-meter program that would allow customers to track wholesale prices and manage consumption themselves, making Griddy’s offerings attractive to more people.

Wholesale prices are generally cheaper than retail prices, but they can fluctuate widely, especially when the Texas power grid faces another crisis during extreme weather. Last year, wholesale prices averaged less than 3 cents per kilowatt hour, much lower than than retail rates that now are running above 11 cents, but they can spike at times of high demand to as much as $9 a kilowatt hour.

What customers want is to be able to use energy when it’s cheapest, said Greg Craig, Griddy’s CEO, and they want to do it automatically. They want to be able to program their thermostat so that if the price rises they can shut off their air conditioning and if the price falls, they can charge their electric-powered vehicle.

Griddy customers may still save money even without real time data, he said. But they won’t be able to see their usage in real time or see how much they’re spending.

“The big utilities have big investments in the existing way and going to real time and more transparency isn’t really in their best interest,” said Craig.

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SECCRA Waga Energy RNG Partnership captures landfill methane with WAGABOX, upgrades biogas to pipeline-quality RNG, enables grid injection, and lowers greenhouse gas emissions, delivering sustainable energy to Chester County homes and businesses.

Key Points

A joint project converting landfill methane to RNG with WAGABOX, cutting emissions and supplying local heat.

✅ WAGABOX captures and purifies landfill gas to RNG

✅ Grid injection supplies energy for 4,000+ homes

✅ Cuts methane and greenhouse gas emissions significantly

In a significant environmental initiative, the Southeastern Chester County Refuse Authority (SECCRA) has partnered with French energy company Waga Energy to convert methane emissions from its landfill into renewable natural gas (RNG). This collaboration aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide sustainable energy to the local community, echoing energy efficiency projects in Quebec seen elsewhere.

Understanding the Issue

Landfills are a substantial source of methane emissions, accounting for over 14% of human-induced methane emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and issues like SF6 in power equipment further boost warming, trapping more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, making its reduction crucial in the fight against climate change.

The SECCRA-Waga Energy Partnership

SECCRA, serving approximately 105,000 residents in Chester County, processes between 450 to 500 tons of waste daily. To mitigate methane emissions from its landfill, SECCRA has partnered with Waga Energy to install a WAGABOX unit—a technology designed to capture and convert landfill methane into RNG, while related efforts like electrified LNG in B.C. illustrate sector-wide decarbonization.

How the WAGABOX Technology Works

The WAGABOX system utilizes a proprietary process to extract methane from landfill gas, purify it, and inject it into the natural gas grid. This process not only reduces harmful emissions, as emerging carbon dioxide electricity generation concepts also aim to do, but also produces a renewable energy source that can be used to heat homes and power businesses.

Environmental and Community Benefits

By converting methane into RNG, the project significantly lowers greenhouse gas emissions, supported by DOE funding for carbon capture initiatives, contributing to climate change mitigation. Additionally, the RNG produced is expected to supply energy to heat over 4,000 homes, providing a sustainable energy source for the local community.

Broader Implications

This initiative aligns with international clean energy cooperation to reduce methane emissions from landfills. Similar projects have been implemented worldwide, demonstrating the effectiveness of converting landfill methane into renewable energy. For instance, Waga Energy has successfully deployed WAGABOX units at various landfills, showcasing the scalability and impact of this technology.

The collaboration between SECCRA and Waga Energy represents a proactive step toward environmental sustainability and energy innovation. By transforming landfill methane into renewable natural gas, the project not only addresses a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions as new EPA power plant rules on carbon capture advance parallel strategies, but also provides a clean energy alternative for the Chester County community.

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Kakrapar Unit 3 700MWe PHWR achieved first criticality, showcasing indigenously designed nuclear power, NPCIL operations, Make in India manufacturing, advanced safety systems, grid integration, and closed-fuel-cycle strategy for India's expansion of pressurised heavy water reactors.

Key Points

India's first indigenous 700MWe PHWR at Kakrapar reached criticality, advancing NPCIL's Make in India nuclear power.

✅ First indigenous 700MWe PHWR achieves criticality

✅ NPCIL-built, Make in India components and contractors

✅ Advanced safety: passive decay heat removal, containment spray

Unit 3 of India’s Kakrapar nuclear plant in Gujarat achieved criticality on 22 July, as milestones at nuclear projects worldwide continue to be reached. It is India’s first indigenously designed 700MWe pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) to achieve this milestone.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated nuclear scientists, saying the reactor is a shining example of the 'Make in India' campaign and of the government's steps to get nuclear back on track in recent years, and a trailblazer for many such future achievements. 

India developed its own nuclear power generation technology as it faced sanctions from the international community following its first nuclear weapons test in in 1974. It has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while China's nuclear energy development is on a steady track according to experts. India has developed a three-stage nuclear programme based on a closed-fuel cycle, where the used fuel of one stage is reprocessed to produce fuel for the next stage.

Kakrapar 3 was developed and is operated by state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), while in Europe KHNP considered for a Bulgarian project as countries weigh options. The first two units are 220MWe PHWRs commissioned in 1993 and 1995. NPCIL said in a statement that the components and equipment for Kakrapur 3 were “manufactured by lndian industries and the construction and erection was undertaken by various lndian contractors”.

The 700MWe PHWRs have advanced safety features such as steel lined inner containment, a passive decay heat removal system, a containment spray system, hydrogen management systems etc, the statement added.

Fuel loading was completed by mid-March, a crucial step in Abu Dhabi during its commissioning as well. “Thereafter, many tests and procedures were carried out during the lockdown period following all COVlD-19 guidelines.”

“As a next step, various experiments / tests will be conducted and power will be increased progressively, a path also followed by Barakah Unit 1 reaching 100% power before commercial operations.” Kakrapur 3 will be connected to the western grid and will be India’s 23rd nuclear power reactor.

Kakrapur 3 “is the front runner in a series of 16 indigenous 700MWe PHWRs which have been accorded administrative approval and financial sanction by the government and are at various stages of implementation”. Five similar units are under construction at Kakarapur 4, Rajasthan 7&8 and Gorakhpur1&2.

DAE said in January 2019 that India planned to put 21 new nuclear units with a combined generating capacity of 15,700MWe into operation by 2031, including ten indigenously designed PHWRs, while Bangladesh develops nuclear power with IAEA assistance. 

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Canada Electricity Supply Crunch underscores grid reliability risks, aging infrastructure, and rising demand, pushing upgrades in transmission, energy storage, smart grid technology, and renewable energy integration to protect industry, consumers, and climate goals.

Key Points

A nationwide power capacity shortfall stressing the grid, raising outage risks and slowing the renewable transition.

✅ Demand growth and aging infrastructure strain transmission capacity

✅ Smart grid, storage, and interties improve reliability and flexibility

✅ Accelerated renewables and efficiency reduce fossil fuel reliance

Canada, known for its vast natural resources and robust energy sector, is now confronting a significant challenge: a crunch in electrical supply. A recent report from EnergyNow.ca highlights the growing concerns over Canada’s electricity infrastructure, revealing that the country is facing a critical shortage that could impact both consumers and industries alike. This development raises pressing questions about the future of Canada’s energy landscape and its implications for the nation’s economy and environmental goals.

The Current Electrical Supply Dilemma

According to EnergyNow.ca, Canada’s electrical supply is under unprecedented strain due to several converging factors. One major issue is the rapid pace of economic and population growth, particularly in urban centers. This expansion has increased demand for electricity, putting additional pressure on an already strained grid. Compounding this issue are aging infrastructure and a lack of sufficient investment in modernizing the electrical grid to meet current and future needs, with interprovincial frictions such as the B.C. challenge to Alberta's export restrictions further complicating coordination.

The report also points out that Canada’s reliance on certain types of energy sources, including fossil fuels, exacerbates the problem. While the country has made strides in renewable energy, including developments in clean grids and batteries across provinces, the transition has not kept pace with the rising demand for electricity. This imbalance highlights a crucial gap in Canada’s energy strategy that needs urgent attention.

Economic and Social Implications

The shortage in electrical supply has significant economic and social implications. For businesses, particularly those in energy-intensive sectors such as manufacturing and technology, the risk of power outages or unreliable service can lead to operational disruptions and financial losses. Increased energy costs due to supply constraints could also affect profit margins and competitiveness on both domestic and international fronts, with electricity exports at risk amid trade tensions.

Consumers are not immune to the impact of this electrical supply crunch. The potential for rolling blackouts or increased energy prices, as debates over electricity rates and innovation continue nationwide, can strain household budgets and affect overall quality of life. Additionally, inconsistent power supply can affect essential services, including healthcare facilities and emergency services, highlighting the critical nature of reliable electricity for public safety and well-being.

Investment and Infrastructure Upgrades

Addressing the electrical supply crunch requires significant investment in infrastructure and technology, and recent tariff threats have boosted support for Canadian energy projects that could accelerate these efforts. The EnergyNow.ca report underscores the need for modernizing the electrical grid to enhance capacity and resilience. This includes upgrading transmission lines, improving energy storage solutions, and expanding the integration of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

Investing in smart grid technology is also essential. Smart grids use digital communication and advanced analytics to optimize electricity distribution, detect outages, and manage demand more effectively. By adopting these technologies, Canada can better balance supply and demand, reduce the risk of blackouts, and improve overall efficiency in energy use.

Renewable Energy Transition

Transitioning to renewable energy sources is a critical component of addressing the electrical supply crunch. While Canada has made progress in this area, the pace of change needs to accelerate under the new Clean Electricity Regulations for 2050 that set long-term targets. Expanding the deployment of wind, solar, and hydroelectric power can help diversify the energy mix and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Additionally, supporting innovations in energy storage and grid management will enhance the reliability and sustainability of renewable energy.

The EnergyNow.ca report highlights several ongoing initiatives and projects aimed at increasing renewable energy capacity. However, these efforts must be scaled up and supported by both public policy and private investment to ensure that Canada can meet its energy needs and climate goals.

Policy and Strategic Planning

Effective policy and strategic planning are crucial for addressing the electrical supply challenges, with an anticipated electricity market reshuffle in at least one province signaling change ahead. Government action is needed to support infrastructure investment, incentivize renewable energy adoption, and promote energy efficiency measures. Collaborative efforts between federal, provincial, and municipal governments, along with private sector stakeholders, will be key to developing a comprehensive strategy for managing Canada’s electrical supply.

Public awareness and engagement are also important. Educating consumers about energy conservation practices and encouraging the adoption of energy-efficient technologies can contribute to reducing overall demand and alleviating some of the pressure on the electrical grid.

Conclusion

Canada’s electrical supply crunch is a pressing issue that demands immediate and sustained action. The growing demand for electricity, coupled with aging infrastructure and a lagging transition to renewable energy, poses significant challenges for the country’s economy and daily life. Addressing this issue will require substantial investment in infrastructure, advancements in technology, and effective policy measures. By taking a proactive and collaborative approach, Canada can navigate this crisis and build a more resilient and sustainable energy future.

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Transcranial electrical stimulation synchronizes brain waves to bolster working memory, aligning neural oscillations across the prefrontal and temporal cortex. This noninvasive brain stimulation may counter cognitive aging by restoring network coupling and improving short-term recall.

Key Points

Transcranial electrical stimulation applies scalp currents to synchronize brain waves, briefly enhancing working memory.

✅ Synchronizes prefrontal-temporal networks to restore coupling

✅ Noninvasive tES/tACS protocols show rapid, reversible gains

✅ Effects lasted under an hour; durability remains to be tested

To read this sentence, you hold the words in your mind for a few seconds until you reach the period. As you do, neurons in your brain fire in coordinated bursts, generating electrical waves that let you hold information for as long as it is needed, much as novel devices can generate electricity from falling snow under specific conditions. But as we age, these brain waves start to get out of sync, causing short-term memory to falter. A new study finds that jolting specific brain areas with a periodic burst of electricity might reverse the deficit—temporarily, at least.

The work makes “a strong case” for the idea that out-of-sync brain waves in specific regions can drive cognitive aging, says Vincent Clark, a neuroscientist at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, who was not involved in the research. He adds that the brain stimulation approach in the study may result in a new electrical therapy for age-related deficits in working memory.

Working memory is “the sketchpad of the mind,” allowing us to hold information in our minds over a period of seconds. This short-term memory is critical to accomplishing everyday tasks such as planning and counting, says Robert Reinhart, a neuroscientist at Boston University who led the study. Scientists think that when we use this type of memory, millions of neurons in different brain areas communicate through coupled bursts of activity, a form of electrical conduction that coordinates timing across networks. “Cells that fire together, wire together,” Reinhart says.

But despite its critical role, working memory is a fragile cognitive resource that declines with age, Reinhart says. Previous studies had suggested that reduced working-memory performance in the elderly is linked to uncoupled activity in different brain areas. So Reinhart and his team set out to test whether recoupling brain waves in older adults could boost the brain’s ability to temporarily store information, a systems-level coordination challenge akin to efforts to use AI for energy savings on modern power grids.

To do so, the researchers used jolts of weak electrical current to synchronize waves in the prefrontal and temporal cortex—two brain areas critical for cognition, a targeted approach not unlike how grids use batteries to stabilize power during strain—and applied the current to the scalps of 42 healthy people in their 60s and 70s who showed no signs of decline in mental ability. Before their brains were zapped, participants looked at a series of images: an everyday object, followed briefly by a blank screen, and then either an identical or a modified version of the same object. The goal was to spot whether the two images were different.

Then the participants took the test again, while their brains were stimulated with a current. After about 25 minutes of applying electricity, participants were on average more accurate at identifying changes in the images than they were before the stimulation. Following stimulation, their performance in the test was indistinguishable from that of a group of 42 people in their 20s. And the waves in the prefrontal and temporal cortex, which had previously been out of sync in most of the participants, started to fire in sync, the researchers report today in Nature Neuroscience, a synchronization imperative reminiscent of safeguards that prevent power blackouts on threatened grids. No such effects occurred in a second group of older people who received jolts of current that didn’t synchronize waves in the prefrontal and temporal cortex.

By using bursts of current to knock brain waves out of sync, the researchers also modulated the brain chatter in healthy people in their 20s, making them slower and less accurate at spotting differences in the image test.

“This is a very nice and clear demonstration of how functional connections underlie memory in younger adults and how alterations … can lead to memory reductions in older adults,” says Cheryl Grady, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest in Toronto, Canada. It’s also the first time that transcranial stimulation has been shown to restore working memory in older people, says Michael O’Sullivan, a neuroscientist at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, though electricity in medicine extends far beyond neurostimulation.

But whether brain zapping could turbocharge the cognitive abilities of seniors or help improve the memories of people with diseases like Alzheimer’s is still unclear: In the study, the positive effects on working memory lasted for just under an hour—though Reinhart says that’s as far as they recorded in the experiment. The team didn’t see the improvements decline toward the end, so he suspects that the cognitive boost may last for longer. Still, researchers say much more work has to be done to better understand how the stimulation works.

Clark is optimistic. “No pill yet developed can produce these sorts of effects safely and reliably,” he says. “Helping people is the ultimate goal of all of our research, and it’s encouraging to see that progress is being made.”

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