NWPS Brings Together Green Energy Leaders

On Saturday, August 11^th, Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society (NWPS) hosted the first annual Beat the Heat Contest’s Final Judging and Networking Event at the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability at the University of British Columbia.  Touted as the “greenest” building in North America, this was a fitting setting in which to bring together students and professionals with a shared dedication to green energy for an afternoon of idea sharing and networking.   

Beat the Heat is a contest searching for the next great green plan to help curb climate change. Serving as a forward-thinking educational platform that provokes thought, discussion, engagement and action in post secondary and post graduate institutions, Beat the Heat seeks to advance energy efficiency and environmental conservation initiatives in BC.

To do this, Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society with sponsorship from FortisBC challenged BC students to come up with a plan to optimize natural gas use for a greener BC.

In attendance at the final event were students and professors from various post-secondary institutions from across the province, as well as many green energy leaders representing a wide range of disciplines from the energy industry as well as from the non-profit sector.  The event kicked off with a friendly welcome from John Hawkins, the event MC and professional public speaking coach.  NWPS President, Jim Pigott, then shared with the audience a bit about the important work being done by the society to preserve wildlife and wildlife spaces in North America. Samantha Collins, of FortisBC’s Conservation Education and Outreach team spoke next, congratulating the contest finalists and highlighting some of the many outreach programs run by FortisBC in support of educating the public about the importance of optimizing energy use.  She underscored the importance of recognizing that BC residents of all ages, including post-secondary and post-graduate students, are consumers of natural gas and therefore play an important role in ensuring that this resource is used wisely.

Natural gas plays an integral role in BC’s energy mix. As our province continues to grow, so too does our demand for energy – up to 45% over the next twenty years. Luckily, British Columbia is home to large number of natural gas reserves, which helps us cope with our increasing energy demands.

Natural gas is one of the cleanest burning fossil fuels. This makes it better for the environment than imported electricity and other fossil fuels, but we want it to do even more. That’s why we asked students to share their ideas about how to best use natural gas for the preservation of BC’s natural environment. While many students from across the province put forth excellent ideas, Geoffrey de Ruiter and Vilma Falotico emerged the two contest finalists.

Following the introductions, the contest finalists presented their innovative ideas to optimize the use of natural gas to the audience in front of a panel of live judges including the Honourable Naomi Yamamoto, Minister of Advanced Education, Dr. Tony Bi, Professor and Associate Director of UBC’s Clean Energy Research Centre, and Mr. Paul Willis, President of Willis Energy. Vilma Falotico, a recent graduate from the Sustainable Business Leadership and Sustainable Energy Management programs at BCIT, presented her submission entitled “Plan to Optimize Natural Gas Use”, including an in-depth assessment of BC’s current and projected natural gas use as well as a proposal for introducing an industrial waste-heat recovery system.  Next, Geoff de Ruiter, a PhD student at UNBC presented his proposal, “Shift and Couple: Opportunities in Natural Gas Efficiency”.  Geoff put forward several ideas in this presentation, including a plan to move towards a centralized system of combined heat and power cogeneration systems as well as a plan to improve natural gas efficiency with dual installation of on-demand heat water systems and wastewater heat recovery.

 Following deliberations, the final judges awarded Geoff de Ruiters first place prize of $10,000 and Vilma second place prize of $5,000.  This prize money will support their education and career advancement expenses. 

Following the presentation of the finalists’ submissions, all attendees enjoyed a catered lunch and took advantage of the opportunity to network and share their own ideas regarding means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through smart energy use.

For more information please visit www.beattheheatcontest.com