Have a look at some of our recent projects to see how our skilled team is able to deliver customized solutions to a broad range of public sector clients.
Comparing Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling Regimes
A new Pembina Institute report compares the offshore drilling regulatory regimes of the Canadian Arctic, the U.S., the U.K., Greenland, and Norway. It identifies similarities and differences of key aspects of the regimes, including management systems, drilling and well activities, facility and drilling systems, well control, independent verification of safety, and oil spill response. The study was initiated by the National Energy Board, which regulates offshore oil and gas drilling and production in the Canadian Arctic.
Download the Executive Summary // Download the report
Building a Regulatory Framework for Geothermal Energy
Geothermal is a form of renewable energy that produces few if any greenhouse gas emissions and can provide a stable, secure supply of energy. There is high potential for the use of geothermal energy in the Northwest Territories. At the request of the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Pembina Institute compared regulatory regimes for geothermal energy from a number of countries. Building a regulatory framework for geothermal energy development in the NWT contains the results of this review and documents the key policy issues associated with geothermal energy development. The report contains interviews with geothermal energy experts from around the world, and includes recommendations for advancing geothermal energy in the NWT.
Download the report: Building a regulatory framework for geothermal energy development in the NWT
Strategic Public Policy Advice on Renewable Energy in Remote and Rural Communities
Agriculture Canada wanted to improve their understanding of policies that support the deployment of renewable energy technologies in rural and remote
areas. While renewable energy technologies can provide many environmental,
social and economic benefits, remote and rural communities face particular
barriers and challenges to increasing uptake of these systems. Without careful
policy design, these communities may be unable to take advantage of the
policies and programs. Pembina's assessment and synthesis of existing policies,
in Canada and elsewhere, can help in developing strategic public policy in
Canada to overcome the barriers, facilitate the deployment of renewable energy,
and maximize the benefits to remote and rural communities.
Assessing Alternative Energy Potential in Alberta's South Saskatchewan Region
The
Alberta Ministry of Finance and Enterprise needed to evaluate alternative energy
applications for the South Saskatchewan Region of the province. Our study
evaluated the following ten alternative energy applications: commercial wind
power, first generation ethanol, biodiesel, biomass combustion, biogas
combustion, syngas combustion, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, small-scale
hydro and industrial clusters (a term used to collectively describe
commercial/industrial energy efficiency applications including district
heating, combined heat and power, and waste heat). For each of the energy
applications, Pembina assessed the scale of the resources needed to support the
application, the size of the opportunity to pursue the application and the
associated economic and environmental implications.
Options for Cutting Carbon in Small, Rural and Remote Communities
Pembina compiled a report for the Office of Energy Efficiency at
Natural Resources Canada which identified strategies that can put small,
rural and remote communities on track to deep reductions in energy and
emissions savings. Case studies of Canadian and international communities are
used throughout the report to demonstrate the success of relevant strategies
and their potential contribution to emission and energy reductions.
Value of Natural Capital in the Credit River Watershed
Working with the Credit Valley Conservation Authority, the Pembina Institute determined that the natural capital of the Credit River Watershed near Toronto, Ontario, provides more than $371 million in ecological services to area residents every year. This finding was presented in a report by Mike Kennedy of the Pembina Institute and Jeff Wilson of the Credit Valley Conservation Authority.
“Natural capital is like the warehouse of nature.”
“Something not factored into modern economics are all of the services that nature provides us for free, just by its mere existence — things like clean water, waste processing, climate regulation, pollination and a host of other services that are essential to human survival,” said Kennedy.
The Credit Valley Conservation Authority learned that wetlands provided the highest economic value in services to the residents of the Credit Valley, contributing natural waste treatment, climate regulation and water supply services worth millions of dollars. The implication: remove the wetlands, lose the services.
Working with Pembina the client made the report and fact sheet public and issued a media release to promote the work.
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