Latest blog posts

Meeting the Freight Transportation GHG Challenge

Posted on November 6th, 2017 – By Jessica Lof, Bastiaan Straatman and David B. Layzell

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a formidable challenge for Canada’s freight transportation sector. If we are serious about doing our share to constrain climate change to less than 2^oC by 2050, it is a challenge that we must meet.

The country’s freight systems contribute 69 million tonnes of carbon equivalents spread across rail, road and marine modes, representing nine per cent of Canada’s total GHG emissions. However, these systems are tightly linked to our prosperity and livelihood.

“It’s the Carbon, Stupid:” Visualizing Canada’s Carbon Flows

Posted on June 26th, 2017 – By David B. Layzell, Ralph Torrie, Benjamin Israel, and Bastiaan Straatman

Energy systems – the production and use of fuels and electricity – are under intense pressure to change for the good of the environment and the economy. However, the flow of energy through these systems is not the problem. Rather it is the flow of carbon, especially when those flows bring carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) to the atmosphere where they become greenhouse gases (GHGs).

Six months ago, CESAR released Sankey diagrams for Canada showing how energy flows from the sources we extract from nature, to the demands of society for fuels and electricity. Today, we are pleased to release a new set of Sankey visualizations – the first of their kind – showing how carbon flows through the same fuel and electricity systems.

Students showcase “Scenarios for Alberta’s Energy Future” to energy-environment community

Posted on January 10th, 2017 –

Energy systems are under intense pressure to change. Society wants major reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while retaining the benefits that energy systems provide to our quality of life. Understanding the technologies and policies needed to achieve these objectives can benefit from technology-rich, scenario modelling of energy futures. CESAR has been developing and using the database resources, modelling approaches and visualization tools to explore various energy futures. We are excited about the value of this work to policy and investment decision making.

CESAR researchers have also been involved in training a new generation of scientists and engineers in energy systems analysis and modelling. In the fall of 2016, 50 students registered in Scie529, the capstone course for the energy specialization at the University of Calgary. They worked in interdisciplinary teams to explore 10 different energy futures. Their work culminated in a poster session in downtown Calgary that attracted more than 120 industry, government and environmental NGO representatives. Mark Lowey from EnviroLine, who is a communications advisor to CESAR, was there and wrote about the special event. I asked him to share that report with us in this CESAR blog.

Visualizing Canada’s Energy Systems: You can't manage what you can't see!

Posted on December 13th, 2016 – By Ralph Torrie, David B. Layzell, Bastiaan Straatman, and Benjamin Israel

CESAR is pleased to offer open access to our latest, interactive, multi-year Sankey diagrams showing the energy systems of Canada and its provinces between 1990 and 2013. The web portal to these Sankey diagrams allows users to move rapidly between hundreds of visualizations showing flows from energy sources to energy services for individual jurisdictions and years.

SAGD cogeneration strategy would shrink the carbon footprint of both the Alberta electrical grid and the oil sands

Posted on October 20th, 2016 – By Mark Lowey, for CESAR

Alberta could simultaneously achieve two of its biggest energy objectives – accelerating the phase-out of coal-fired power and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands crude production – using a readily available, proven technology, according to two major new studies (Figure 1) by the Canadian Energy Systems Analysis Research (CESAR) Initiative.

Expanding the use of combined heat and power (called cogeneration) technology) at steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) oil sands operations would cut more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Alberta’s electrical grid – and at a lower cost – than simply replacing coal with stand alone natural gas-fired power, the studies show.

Canadian energy systems scenario modelling report outlines pathways to achieve major GHG reductions

Posted on June 14th, 2016 – By Mark Lowey

As a research group focused on how best to transform Canada’s energy systems towards sustainability, CESAR was very interested in the recent release of the Trottier Energy Futures Project report, “Canada’s Challenge and Opportunity: Transformations for major reductions in GHG emissions.” In this blog post, Mark Lowey reviews the report’s findings, including an interview with Project Manager Oskar Sigvaldason.

The Elephant in the Room: Energy Intensity of the Canadian Economy

Posted on April 26th, 2016 – By Ralph Torrie and David B. Layzell

The decline in the energy intensity of the Canadian economy between 1995 and 2010 reduced annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by nearly 200 Mt CO2e – at least five times more than the impact of phasing out coal-fired power in Ontario, a measure that is often cited as the single largest GHG reduction measure in North America. Clearly, there is an elephant in the room.

Oil sands can help reduce Alberta’s GHG emissions

Posted on April 14th, 2016 – By Mark Lowey

Alberta’s oil sands can play an important role in helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the province’s electrical grid as coal is phased out and more renewables are brought on, a study by the Canadian Energy Systems Analysis Research (CESAR) initiative shows.

CESAR’s scenario modelling found that adding a lot more cogeneration capacity to provide the heat and power for steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operations would not only reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from SAGD, but have an even larger impact on emission reductions associated with the province’s electrical grid. SAGD cogeneration, the CESAR team says, would be a very effective strategy to decrease the GHG footprint of oil sands crude production, phase out coal-fired power and increase the contribution of renewables to the Alberta grid – all while maintaining grid reliability and keeping a lid on power prices.

Four ways to reduce Alberta’s GHG emissions from homes

Posted on March 29th, 2016 – By Mark Lowey

Improving energy efficiency in Alberta’s residential housing sector could potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 4 million tonnes annually compared to a business as usual (BAU) scenario – or over 122 million tonnes by 2060, reports a group of University of Calgary engineering students working with David Layzell, professor and director of the Canadian Energy Systems Analysis Research (CESAR) initiative at the University of Calgary.

Impact of electric vehicles on Alberta’s energy systems

Posted on March 15th, 2016 – By David B. Layzell and Bas Straatman

During the last three decades, technological innovations – especially digital technologies – have transformed the music, film, book, mass media, photography and telecommunications sectors. Companies that dominated these sectors 20 years ago either no longer exist, or are a shadow of their former selves. Many experts predict that personal light-duty vehicle transportation is the next major sector on the cusp of technology disruption and transformation. To explore the potential impact of electric vehicles on the energy systems of Alberta, we carried out a scenario modelling study that can be downloaded here. This study is the focus of today’s blog post.

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