Alberta’s Power Grid: Where will Electricity Come from in the Future? (Part 1)

Alberta has recently undertaken major changes to our electricity system. The intent is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with climate change, thereby gaining “social license” to facilitate the sale and export of our fossil fuel energy products. There is considerable controversy over the effectiveness of many aspects of proposed changes. The speaker will discuss the need to conduct more long term environmental studies which consider the decades long life cycle of alternative systems before embarking on such major changes. Speaker:     Cosmos Voutsinos Cosmos Voutsinos is a mechanical engineer graduated from the University of Waterloo and McMaster University. He specializes in energy conversion systems, in particular conversion to electrical energy. He has worked in various capacities in the design, construction and manufacturing of equipment and operation of energy conversion facilities for most energy technologies. This list includes nuclear and fossil fuel fired power plants as well as a variety of renewable energy projects. In nuclear power he has participated as a design engineer, as a construction manager, as a manufacturer of nuclear equipment and as a techno-economic consultant. His work has brought him from Canada, to USA, Taiwan, China, S. Korea, Japan and Belgium. He has been a member of the Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA), Organization of Candu Industries (OCI) and the Canadian Nuclear Society (CNS). At present he retains his Alberta P. Eng. membership. Over his 40 year working career Cosmos has got to know not only the energy technologies involved but also the people and the social structures behind them. He has recently returned from presenting a paper titled; “The Clash of Energy Supply and Climate Change” at the 2016 International Conference on Environmental Science and Engineering held in China this year. He will share his experience with us. Moderator: Duane Pendergast Date: Thursday, September 22, 2016 Time: Noon - 1:30 pm Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $12.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea)