By Sheldon Spackman

Alternative Energy

RDC and FortisAlberta announce new partnership for sustainable energy future

Apr 4, 2019 | 2:48 PM

RDC and FortisAlberta have announced a new partnership aimed at advancing a sustainable energy future for the province.

The Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) was signed by RDC President and CEO Joel Ward and FortisAlberta Customer Service Vice President Todd Dettling at the College’s Alternative Energy Lab on Thursday.

Dettling says the partnership will give Fortis the ability to accelerate some of the products and facilities they’re trying to integrate into the electrical system in Alberta.

“We have an excellent knowledge on operating a distribution system in Alberta,” says Dettling. “But with the change of two-way flow and the introduction of alternative energy at the business and home sites in Alberta, there’s lots for us to learn here. We feel that working with Red Deer College is going to give us that advancement in gaining that knowledge here in Alberta.”

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Dettling describes the potential of alternative energy as extensive.

“The costs are coming down dramatically,” he explains. “We have seen extreme increases in the application and inquiries across our system in Alberta. We recently developed a hosting map on our website which allows developers to go in and see the opportunities and where they can place solar or wind generation in Alberta and we’re just trying to make it easy for developers to get connected to the grid.”

Meantime, RDC President and CEO Joel Ward says FortisAlberta was the right fit for them to help ensure the support, expertise and opportunities needed for students as the College expands its alternative energy initiatives.

“If you take a look around the world, you’re starting to see this alternative energy space really develop,” he exclaims. “If you look in Europe and Scandinavia and countries like that, it’s really become part of their DNA, part of who they are and we’re headed in that direction. Governments in Alberta have talked about diversification and moving away from just oil and gas and we think that that’s the right strategy and we believe that we can contribute to that diversification.”

Ward points-out FortisAlberta and RDC share many values.

“They’re a very strong, well-managed company and so we think that they’re bold and they’re innovative and we’re bold and innovative and we share those values,” he explains “If we’re able to achieve all that we hope to by demonstrating and doing the research on alternative energy and then encouraging not only business and industry but individual homes and small businesses, we think that can make a dramatic impact as we move away from dependency on oil and gas as we start to use some of the other natural resources we have in this province.”

Ward cites wind, solar power and geothermal energy as examples.

“To get that diversification in the energy market, we need the type of institutions that can be on the leading edge of demonstrating a lot of this new technology,” he declares. “We need to be able to demonstrate that if you go a certain way and try a new technology, here’s the research that says, here’s the payback, here’s the ROI (Return on Investment) and here’s the impact on your business.”

Ultimately, Ward says the College hopes to connect directly with the electrical grid from FortisAlberta.

“So that when we create excess energy, we can put it in the grid and make money from it and they can distribute it beyond just central Alberta,” he explains. “In fact, I’m very much interested in working with the City and the County, the College and others to find a way that we can get together and take a look at how we distribute electricity in central Alberta and find ways to lower the cost per kilowatt and incorporate all of this new technology into the grid.”

Officials say highlights of the MOU include integrating a practical, hands-on component into the curriculum through the use of FortisAlberta’s state-of-the-art Employee Development Centre, located just west of Red Deer and providing professional development training opportunities to FortisAlberta employees, to ensure individuals are well-equipped for success in their careers.

In addition, using RDC’s Alternative Energy Lab as a potential demonstration site for new and emerging alternative energy sources being developed by FortisAlberta.

Finally, officials note the promotion of environmental stewardship through the use of energy efficient technologies to reduce energy consumption, with the goal of becoming a carbon neutral campus in the coming years.