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| Dr. Larry Hughes |
Dr. Hughes, of Electrical and Computer Engineering, believes the people of Nova Scotia need information so they can make good choices and pressure their governments to do the same Ð otherwise the province faces a very uncertain energy future.
ÒEnergy permeates everything,” says Dr. Hughes. ÒHow we use it is going to affect the provincial economy well into the future. Just about all the energy we use (in Nova Scotia) is imported energy and that makes us extremely vulnerable to price rises, trouble in the Middle East and problems in Russia (where the province gets most of its coal). Nova Scotia really is at the mercy of external forces.”
This conviction has turned Professor Hughes into a prolific writer. His web site Ð http://lh.ece.dal.ca - provides a sample of the breadth and depth of his concern. Reports and papers on how to secure a better energy future for the province are posted among dozens of articles and letters to newspapers Ð about climate change, transportation, the Kyoto Accord and wind energy.
As a leading expert on alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass, Dr. Hughes contends that Nova Scotia Power and the provincial Energy Ministry have made very minor changes during the past 15 years and, contrary to what they are saying publicly, arenÕt exploring anything else. Dr. Hughes contends, for example, that Nova Scotia Power is comfortable with making electricity the way it has for decades.
ÒThe facilities they have, which are going to last another 10 to 20 years, are designed to burn coal, or to a lesser extent, oil and natural gas,” says Dr. Hughes. ÒThat is how they do it. ItÕs reflective of larger utilities across North America. If you want electricity, you bring a power station on line. And when they talk about renewables, they talk about wind,” says Professor Hughes. ÒThat is just too narrow a focus.”
And he should know. Dr. Hughes and colleagues have done two stages of research under the federal governmentÕs Climate Change Action Fund. The second phase, in 2002, awarded Dr. Hughes $200,000 for the purchase of three 20 k wind turbines.
ÒThe original project asked: where is the wind? So we went around the province collecting data,” says Hughes, who was aided by high school groups. The wind turbines are being installed in Glace Bay, Port Hawkesbury and at a site near Windsor. The project is experimental Ð to see what results they will get Ð and it also is aimed at raising the profile of wind power in peopleÕs minds.
But wind is not the only solution, says Dr. Hughes. In fact, it is risky. Turbines are noisy and the wind doesnÕt blow all the time. You have to have something to fill in at the windless times.
For Dr. Hughes, that is biomass. Biomass can include hard and soft woods, agricultural and industrial wastes and waste as humble as sawdust. Mill residue, including sawdust, could supply about 15 per cent of Nova ScotiaÕs electricity Ð a significant contribution, he says.
Dr. Hughes is also a fan of the sun and says Nova Scotia could generate a good amount of solar power. And there is district heat, an energy source that has grown in use in Europe.
For every litre of oil burned at the TuftÕs Cove power plant in Dartmouth, only a third of it gets turned into electricity. The remaining two thirds are lost and could be captured to heat homes Ñ that is district heat. ÒDistrict heat has been around for 120 years and we should be doing everything we can to encourage it.”
But Dr. Hughes fears that Nova Scotians keep falling for the dream of gushing oil and gas wells. Oil and natural gas potential off Sable Island is oversold, says Hughes, not just as a source of energy, but as a source of riches for Nova Scotia.
ÒThis is an energy security issue,” says Dr. Hughes. Nova Scotia has to get reliable energy sources at prices that people can afford. That means taking a hard look at everything from sawdust to wind to solar and district heat, wood and industrial waste.
ÒIÕve been beating this drum in Nova Scotia for the past 15 years,” says Hughes. ÒThere have been very minor changes made. I think it is important to inform people. I feel an obligation.”