B.C. Streamlines Regulatory Process for Clean Energy Projects

Medicine Hat Smart Grid AI modernizes electricity distribution with automation, sensors, and demand response, enhancing energy efficiency and renewable integration while using predictive analytics and real-time data to reduce consumption and optimize grid operations.

Key Points

An initiative using smart grid tech and AI to optimize energy use, cut waste, and improve renewable integration.

✅ Predictive analytics forecast demand to balance load and prevent outages.

✅ Automation, sensors, and meters enable dynamic, resilient distribution.

✅ Integrates solar and wind with demand response to cut emissions.

The city of Medicine Hat, Alberta, is taking bold steps toward enhancing its energy infrastructure and reducing electricity consumption with the help of innovative technology. Recently, several grant winners have been selected to improve the city's electricity grid distribution and leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to adapt to electricity demands while optimizing energy use. These projects promise to not only streamline energy delivery but also contribute to more sustainable practices by reducing energy waste.

Advancing the Electricity Grid

Medicine Hat’s electricity grid is undergoing a significant transformation, thanks to a new set of initiatives funded by government grants that advance a smarter electricity infrastructure vision for the region. The city has long been known for its commitment to sustainable energy practices, and these new projects are part of that legacy. The winners of the grants aim to modernize the city’s electricity grid to make it more resilient, efficient, and adaptable to the changing demands of the future, aligning with macrogrid strategies adopted nationally.

At the core of these upgrades is the integration of smart grid technologies. A smart grid is a more advanced version of the traditional power grid, incorporating digital communications and real-time data to optimize the delivery and use of electricity. By connecting sensors, meters, and control systems across the grid, along with the integration of AI data centers where appropriate, the grid can detect and respond to changes in demand, adjust to faults or outages, and even integrate renewable energy sources more efficiently.

One of the key aspects of the grant-funded projects involves automating the grid. Automation allows for the dynamic adjustment of power distribution in response to changes in demand or supply, reducing the risk of blackouts or inefficiencies. For instance, if an area of the city experiences a surge in energy use, the grid can automatically reroute power from less-used areas or adjust the distribution to avoid overloading circuits. This kind of dynamic response is crucial for maintaining a stable and reliable electricity supply.

Moreover, the enhanced grid will be able to better incorporate renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, reflecting British Columbia's clean-energy shift as well, which are increasingly important in Alberta’s energy mix. By utilizing a more flexible and responsive grid, Medicine Hat can make the most of renewable energy when it is available, reducing reliance on non-renewable sources.

Using AI to Reduce Energy Consumption

While improving the grid infrastructure is an essential first step, the real innovation comes in the form of using artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce energy consumption. Several of the grant winners are focused on developing AI-driven solutions that can predict energy demand patterns, optimize energy use in real-time, and encourage consumers to reduce unnecessary energy consumption.

AI can be used to analyze vast amounts of data from across the electricity grid, such as weather forecasts, historical energy usage, and real-time consumption data. This analysis can then be used to make predictions about future energy needs. For example, AI can predict when the demand for electricity will peak, allowing the grid operators to adjust supply ahead of time, ensuring a more efficient distribution of power. By predicting high-demand periods, AI can also assist in optimizing the use of renewable energy sources, ensuring that solar and wind power are utilized when they are most abundant.

In addition to grid management, AI can help consumers save energy by making smarter decisions about how and when to use electricity. For instance, AI-powered smart home devices can learn household routines and adjust heating, cooling, and appliance usage to reduce energy consumption without compromising comfort. By using data to optimize energy use, these technologies not only reduce costs for consumers but also decrease overall demand on the grid, leading to a more sustainable energy system.

The AI initiatives are also expected to assist businesses in reducing their carbon footprints. By using AI to monitor and optimize energy use, industrial and commercial enterprises can cut down on waste and reduce energy-related operational costs, while anticipating digital load growth signaled by an Alberta data centre agreement in the province. This has the potential to make Medicine Hat a more energy-efficient city, benefiting both residents and businesses alike.

A Sustainable Future

The integration of smart grid technology and AI-driven solutions is positioning Medicine Hat as a leader in sustainable energy practices. The city’s approach is focused not only on improving energy efficiency and reducing waste but also on making electricity consumption more manageable and adaptable in a rapidly changing world. These innovations are a crucial part of Medicine Hat's long-term strategy to reduce carbon emissions and meet climate goals while ensuring reliable and affordable energy for its residents.

In addition to the immediate benefits of these projects, the broader impact is likely to influence other municipalities across Canada, including insights from Toronto's electricity planning for rapid growth, and beyond. As the technology matures and proves successful, it could set a benchmark for other cities looking to modernize their energy grids and adopt sustainable, AI-driven solutions.

By investing in these forward-thinking technologies, Medicine Hat is not only future-proofing its energy infrastructure but also taking decisive steps toward a greener, more energy-efficient future. The collaboration between local government, technology providers, and the community marks a significant milestone in the city’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.

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Floating Rotating Eco Hotel harnesses renewable energy via VAWTAU, recycles rainwater for greywater, and follows zero-waste principles. This mobile, off-grid, Qatar-based resort generates electricity by slow 360-degree rotation while offering luxury amenities.

Key Points

A mobile, off-grid hotel that rotates to generate power, uses VAWTAU, recycles greywater, and targets zero-waste.

✅ Rotates 360 deg in 24 hours to produce electricity

✅ VAWTAU system: vertical-axis turbine and sun umbrella

✅ Rain capture and greywater recycling minimize waste

A new eco-friendly, floating hotel plans to generate its own electricity by rotating while guests relax on board, echoing developments like the solar Marriott hotel in sustainable hospitality.

Led by Hayri Atak Architectural Design Studio (HAADS), the structure will be completely mobile, meaning it can float from place to place, never sitting in a permanent position. Building began in March 2020 and the architects aim for it to be up and running by 2025.

It will be based in Qatar, but has the potential to be located in different areas due to its mobility, and it sits within a region advancing projects such as solar hydrogen production that signal a broader clean-energy shift.

The design includes minimum energy loss and a zero waste principle at its core, aligning with progress in wave energy research that aims to power a clean future. As it will rotate around all day long, this will generate electrical energy to power the whole hotel.

But guests won’t feel too dizzy, as it takes 24 hours for the hotel to spin 360 degrees.

The floating hotel will stay within areas with continuous currents, to ensure that it is always rotating, drawing on ideas from ocean and river power systems that exploit natural flows. This type of green energy production is called ‘vawtau’ (vertical axis wind turbine and umbrella) which works like a wind turbine on the vertical axis, while alternative approaches like kite-based wind energy target stronger, high-altitude currents as well, and functions as a sun umbrella on the coastal band.

Beyond marine-current concepts such as underwater kites, the structure will also make use of rainwater to create power. A cover on the top of the hotel will collect rain to be used for greywater recycling. This is when wastewater is plumbed straight back into toilets, washing machines or outside taps to maximise efficiency.

The whole surface area is around 35,000 m², comparable in scale to emerging floating solar plants that demonstrate modular, water-based infrastructure, and there are a total of 152 rooms. It will have three different entrances so that there is access to the land at any time of the day, thanks to the 140-degree pier that surrounds it.

There will also be indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a sauna, spa, gym, mini golf course and other activity areas.

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Clean Electricity Standard (CES) sets utility emissions targets, uses tradable credits, and advances decarbonization via technology-agnostic benchmarks, carbon capture, renewable portfolio standards, upstream methane accounting, and cap-and-trade alternatives in reconciliation policy.

Key Points

CES sets utility emissions targets using tradable credits and benchmarks to drive power-sector decarbonization.

✅ Annual clean energy targets phased to 2050

✅ Tradable credits for compliance across utilities

✅ Includes upstream methane and lifecycle emissions

The Biden Administration and Democratic members of Congress have supported including a clean electricity standard (CES) in the upcoming reconciliation bill. A CES is an alternative to pricing carbon dioxide through a tax or cap-and-trade program and focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions produced during electricity generation by establishing targets, while early assessments show mixed results so far. In principle, it is a technology-agnostic approach. In practice, however, it pushes particular technologies out of the market.

The details of the CES are still being developed, but recent legislation may provide insight into how the CES could operate. In May, Senator Tina Smith and Representative Ben Ray Luján introduced the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2019 (CESA), while Minnesota's 100% carbon-free mandate offers a state-level parallel, and in January 2020, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a discussion draft of the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act. Both bills increase the clean energy target annually until 2050 in order to phase out emissions. Both bills also create a credit system where clean sources of electricity as determined by a benchmark, carbon dioxide emitted per kilowatt-hour, receive credits. These credits may be transferred, sold, and auctioned so utilities that fail to meet targets can procure credits from others, as large energy customers push to accelerate clean energy globally.

The bills’ benchmarks vary, and while the CLEAN Future Act allows natural gas-fired generators to receive partial credits, CESA does not. Under both bills, these generators would be expected to install carbon capture technology to continue meeting increasing targets for clean electricity generation. Both bills go beyond considering the emissions resulting from generation and include upstream emissions for natural gas-fired generators. Natural gas, a greenhouse gas, that is leaked upstream of a generator during transportation is to be included among its emissions. The CLEAN Future Act also calls for newly constructed hydropower generators to account for the emissions associated with the facility’s construction despite producing clean electricity. These additional provisions demonstrate not only the CES’s inability to fully address the issue of emissions but also the slippery slope of expanding the program to include other markets, echoing cost and reliability concerns as California exports its energy policies across the West.

A majority of states have adopted clean energy, electricity, or renewable portfolio standards, with some considering revamping electricity rates to clean the grid, leaving legislators with plenty of examples to consider. As they weigh their options, legislators should consider if they are effectively addressing the problem at hand, economy-wide emissions reductions, and at what cost, drawing on examples like New Mexico's 100% clean electricity bill to inform trade-offs.

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Attosecond Electron Transport uses ultrafast lasers and single-cycle light pulses to drive tunneling in bowtie gold nanoantennas, enabling sub-femtosecond switching in optoelectronic nanostructures and surpassing picosecond silicon limits for next-gen computing.

Key Points

A light-driven method that manipulates electrons with ultrafast pulses to switch currents within attoseconds.

✅ Uses single-cycle light pulses to drive electron tunneling

✅ Achieves 600 attosecond current switching in nano-gaps

✅ Enables optoelectronic, plasmonic devices beyond silicon

When it comes to data transfer and computing, the faster we can shift electrons and conduct electricity the better – and scientists have just been able to transport electrons at sub-femtosecond speeds (less than one quadrillionth of a second) in an experimental setup.

The trick is manipulating the electrons with light waves that are specially crafted and produced by an ultrafast laser. It might be a long while before this sort of setup makes it into your laptop, but similar precision is seen in noninvasive interventions where targeted electrical stimulation can boost short-term memory for limited periods, and the fact they pulled it off promises a significant step forward in terms of what we can expect from our devices.

Right now, the fastest electronic components can be switched on or off in picoseconds (trillionths of a second), a pace that intersects with debates over 5G electricity use as systems scale, around 1,000 times slower than a femtosecond.

With their new method, the physicists were able to switch electric currents at around 600 attoseconds (one femtosecond is 1,000 attoseconds).

"This may well be the distant future of electronics," says physicist Alfred Leitenstorfer from the University of Konstanz in Germany. "Our experiments with single-cycle light pulses have taken us well into the attosecond range of electron transport."

Leitenstorfer and his colleagues were able to build a precise setup at the Centre for Applied Photonics in Konstanz. Their machinery included both the ability to carefully manipulate ultrashort light pulses, and to construct the necessary nanostructures, including graphene architectures, where appropriate.

The laser used by the team was able to push out one hundred million single-cycle light pulses every single second in order to generate a measurable current. Using nanoscale gold antennae in a bowtie shape (see the image above), the electric field of the pulse was concentrated down into a gap measuring just six nanometres wide (six thousand-millionths of a metre).

As a result of their specialist setup and the electron tunnelling and accelerating it produced, the researchers could switch electric currents at well under a femtosecond – less than half an oscillation period of the electric field of the light pulses.

Getting beyond the restrictions of conventional silicon semiconductor technology has proved a challenge for scientists, but using the insanely fast oscillations of light to help electrons pick up speed could provide new avenues for pushing the limits on electronics, as our power infrastructure is increasingly digitized and integrated with photonics.

And that's something that could be very advantageous in the next generation of computers: scientists are currently experimenting with the way that light and electronics could work together in all sorts of different ways, from noninvasive brain stimulation to novel sensors.

Eventually, Leitenstorfer and his team think that the limitations of today's computing systems could be overcome using plasmonic nanoparticles and optoelectronic devices, using the characteristics of light pulses to manipulate electrons at super-small scales, with related work even exploring electricity from snowfall under specific conditions.

"This is very basic research we are talking about here and may take decades to implement," says Leitenstorfer.

The next step is to experiment with a variety of different setups using the same principle. This approach might even offer insights into quantum computing, the researchers say, although there's a lot more work to get through yet - we can't wait to see what they'll achieve next.

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Brazil ICMS Tax Cap limits state VAT on fuels, natural gas, electricity, communications, and transit, promising short-term price relief amid inflation, with federal compensation to states and potential legal challenges affecting investments and ANP auctions.

Key Points

A policy capping state VAT at 17-18 percent on fuels, electricity, and services to temper prices and inflation.

✅ Caps VAT to 17-18% on fuels, power, telecom, transit

✅ Short-term relief; medium-long term impact uncertain

✅ Federal compensation; potential court challenges, investment risk

Brazil’s congress approved a bill that limits the ICMS tax rate that state governments can charge on fuels, natural gas, electricity, communications, and public transportation. 

Local lawyers told BNamericas that the measure may reduce fuel and power prices in the short term, similar to Brazil power sector relief loans seen during the pandemic, but it is unlikely to produce any major effects in the medium and long term. 

In most states the ceiling was set at 17% or 18% and the federal government will pay compensation to the states for lost tax revenue until December 31, via reduced payments on debts that states owe the federal government.

The bill will become law once signed by President Jair Bolsonaro, who pushed strongly for the proposal with an eye on his struggling reelection campaign for the October presidential election. Double-digit inflation has turned into a major election issue and fuel and electricity prices have been among the main inflation drivers, as seen in EU energy-driven inflation across the bloc this year. Congress’ approval of the bill is seen by analysts as political victory for the Brazilian leader.

How much difference will it make?

Marcus Francisco, tax specialist and partner at Villemor Amaral Advogados, said that in the formation of fuel and electricity prices there are other factors, including high natural gas prices, that drive increases.

“In the case of fuels, if the barrel of oil [price] increases, automatically the final price for the consumer will go up. For electricity, on the other hand, there are several subsidies and policy choices such as Florida rejecting federal solar incentives that are part of the price and that can increase the rate [paid],” he said. 

There is also a possibility that some states will take the issue to the supreme court since ICMS is a key source of revenue for them, Francisco added.

Tiago Severini, a partner at law firm Vieira Rezende, said the comparison between the revenue impact and the effective price reduction, based on the estimates made by the states and the federal government, seems disproportionate, and, as seen in Europe, rolling back European electricity prices is often tougher than it appears. 

“In other words, a large tax collection impact is generated, which is quite unequal among the different states, for a not so strong price reduction,” he said.

“Due to the lack of clarity regarding the precision of the calculations involved, it’s difficult even to assess the adequacy of the offsets the federal government has been considering, and international cases such as France's new electricity pricing scheme illustrate how complex it can be to align fiscal offsets with regulatory constraints, to cover the cost it would have with the compensation for the states” Severini added.

The compensation ideas that are known so far include hiking other taxes, such as the social contribution on net profits (CSLL) that is paid by oil and gas firms focused on exploration and production.

“This can generate severe adverse effects, such as legal disputes, reduced investments in the country, and reduced attractiveness of the new auctions by [sector regulator] ANP, and costly interventions like the Texas electricity market bailout after extreme weather events,” Severini said. 

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CPUC Decision on San Diego Community Power directs SDG&E to use updated forecasts, stabilizing electricity rates for CCA customers and supporting clean energy in San Diego with accurate rate forecasting and reduced volatility.

Key Points

A CPUC ruling directing SDG&E to use updated forecasts to ensure accurate, stable CCA rates and limit volatility.

✅ Uses 2021 sales forecasts for rate setting

✅ Aims to prevent undercollection and bill spikes

✅ Levels changes across customer classes

The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday sided with the soon-to-launch San Diego community energy program in a dispute it had with San Diego Gas & Electric.

San Diego Community Power — which will begin to purchase power for customers in San Diego, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Encinitas and Imperial Beach later this year — had complained to the commission that data SDG&E intended to use to calculate rates, including community choice exit fees that could make the new energy program less attractive to prospective customers.

SDG&E argued it was using numbers it was authorized to employ as part of a general rate case amid a potential rate structure revamp that is still being considered by the commission.

But in a 4-0 vote, the commission, or CPUC, sided with San Diego Community Power and directed SDG&E to use an updated forecast for energy sales.

"This was not an easy decision," said CPUC president Marybel Batjer at the meeting, held remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions. "In my mind, this outcome best accounts for the shifting realities ... in the San Diego area while minimizing the impact on ratepayers during these difficult financial times."

In filings to the commission, SDG&E predicted a rate decrease of 12.35 percent in the coming year. While that appears to be good news for customers, Californians still face soaring electricity prices statewide, Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves said the data set SDG&E wanted to use would lead to an undercollection of $150 million to $260 million.

That would result in rates that would be "artificially low," Guzman Aceves said, and rates "would inevitably go up quite a bit after the undercollection was addressed."

San Diego Community Power, or SDCP, said the temporary reduction would make its rates less attractive than SDG&E's, especially amid SDG&E's minimum charge proposal affecting low-usage customers, just as it is about to begin serving customers. SDCP's board members wrote an open letter last month to the commission, accusing the utility of "willful manipulation of data."

Working with an administrative law judge at the CPUC, Guzman Aceves authored a proposal requiring SDG&E to use numbers based on 2021 forecasts, as regulators simultaneously weigh whether the state needs more power plants to ensure reliability. The utility argued that could result in an increase of "roughly 40 percent" for medium and large commercial and industrial customers this year.

To help reduce potential volatility, Guzman Aceves, SDCP and other community energy supporters called for using a formula that would average out changes in rates across customer classes amid debates over income-based utility charges statewide. That's what the commissioners OK'd Thursday.

"It is essential that customer commodity rates be as accurate as we can possibly get them to avoid undercollections," said Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma.

San Diego Community Power is one of 23 community choice aggregation, or CCA, energy programs that have launched in California in the past decade.

CCAs compete with traditional power companies amid California's evolving power competition landscape, in one important role — purchasing power for a given community. They were created to boost the use of cleaner energy sources, such as wind and solar, at rates equal to or lower than investor-owned utilities.

However, CCAs do not replace utilities because the incumbent power companies still perform all of the tasks outside of power purchasing, such as transmission and distribution of energy and customer billing.

When a CCA is formed, California rules stipulate the utility customers in that area are automatically enrolled in the CCA. If customers prefer to stay with their previous power company, they can opt out of joining the CCA.

The shift of customers from SDG&E to San Diego Community Power is expected to be large. The total number of accounts for SDCP is expected to be 770,000, which would make it the second-largest CCA in the state. That's why SDCP considered Thursday's CPUC decision to be so important.

"At a time when customers are choosing between sticking with San Diego Gas & Electric and migrating to a CCA, we want them to have accurate bill information," said Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen.

"SDCP is very happy with today's CPUC decision, and that the commissioners shared our goal of limiting rate volatility for businesses and families in the region," said SDCP interim CEO Bill Carnahan. "This is definitely a win for accurate rate forecasting, and our mutual customers, and we look forward to working with SDG&E on next steps."

In an email, SDG&E spokeswoman Helen Gao said, "We are committed to continuing to work collaboratively with local Community Choice Aggregation programs to support their successful launch in 2021 and ensure that our mutual customers receive excellent customer service."

San Diego Community Power's case before the CPUC was joined by the California Community Choice Association, a trade group advocating for CCAs, and the Clean Energy Alliance — the North County-based CCA representing Del Mar, Solana Beach and Carlsbad that is scheduled to launch this summer.

SDCP will begin its rollout this year, folding in about 71,000 municipal, commercial and industrial accounts. The bulk of its roughly 700,000 residential accounts is expected to come in January 2022.

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