Power Generation in Alberta - Assignment Example

Power Generation in Alberta College Electri generation in Alberta has played an important role in the economic and political development in the province. It was the first province to implement deregulated market policy in Canada. The electricity market started in 1996 after the electricity utility act was adopted by the government. The establishment of Alberta Electric System in 2003 led the province to move into full retail access. The companies that dominate the electricity production are TransAlta, ATCO Power, and Capital Power (Alberta. Alberta Resource Development, 2000). This article will explain the history of power generation in the province; this will include why were the industry established, how it was established and the owners of the companies. It also explain the environmental issues associated with the generation of electricity, the economic factors in the province that are influencing the expansion of the industry, available jobs for the electrical engineers, top companies and how the electricity industry has boosted the economic development of the area. The electricity development in Alberta started in 1874 following the development of the coal powered electric generators (Alberta. Alberta Resource Development, 2000). In 1883, the first single phase AC generators was started in the town of Calgary by Bow river company. Canadian electrical association was established in 1891 so as to represent the industry. Later on in the year, Edmonton electric lighting company was established and it started building a coal fired generating plant. Due to increase demand of the energy, the first hydro-generator was built in Bow River in 1893 but this plant was small. In 1902, Edmonton bought Edmonton electric lighting and power company and it became the first municipally own electricity company in Canada. The big hydro-electric plant was built by the Calgary power in 1911 the plant was built on the run of river Horseshoe Falls. Due to the power challenges, the provincial government decided to restructure the electricity industry. The first part commence in 1995 following the passage of electric utilities act of 1995. This act came up with an open access competitive power pool which allowed for the trading of power in the province. The aim of the act was to establish a structure that will offer efficient and competitive market for the new emerging electrical generation, the same playing field for both buyers and sellers, the generation and transmission functions was divided, and due to reduced regulation, the customers benefited more from the competition. These principles were well supported by the restructuring in the industry. The transmission and distribution remain regulated in the province but it was restructured. In 1996, Alberta electric system operator (AESO) was established. The organization pool and sold both generated and imported electricity to distributors and exporters in a spot market (Alberta. Alberta Resource Development, 2000). The power generation sectors are mainly owned by the companies such as TransAlta, ATCO, EPCOR, ENMAX, and Capital power. Due to high demand for electricity, the province has expanded their production hence impacting on the environment. The power is produced through several means such as nuclear power, coal, and, wind. Coal technology is the use of pulverized coal to produce heat steam that will rotate the steam turbines. This technology produces a lot of heat and it has several impacts on the environment. This has a negative impact on global warming. The coals used are extracted from the ground resulting in land degradation and soil acidification due to industry wastes. Acidification of soil occurs as a result of waste such as Sulphur and nitrogen changing the soil chemical and physical properties, this will have an impact on the vegetation growth. Another form of power generation is through wind. This is produced when the wind rotates the wind turbines hence rotating the motor to produce power. The turbines form a visual pollution matters that are related to tourist areas. A lot of carbon dioxide is emitted during the manufacture of the equipments, a lot of concrete are also needed to construct and install the tower. It has been found that the rotating towers kill birds and high power voltage lines kill millions of birds annually. Another form of energy is gas. This is a natural gas and their production has several impacts on the environment at all stages of their use. When it is heated it produces carbon dioxide and it will trap the heat in the atmosphere and it is normally referred to as greenhouse gas, and it has been found to be the main reason for global warming. The gas sometimes seeps from the floor of the ocean disrupting the marine life. High level exposure to these materials poison the fish and it lead to death; drilling of gas materials increases noise pollution hence disrupting the birds. The bird’s species that has been severely affected are Baird’s sparrow and Sprague Pipit, their population has decreased. Hydroelectric power production has a negative impact on life cycle as a result of construction and power transmission. It also affects water regimes and fisheries largely and sometimes it affects the downstream environment. The Government invests a lot of money in different “green” technologies that can help decrease the amount of negative pollutions, but the results are still not satisfactory. The rising fuel prices and increasing effort to bring down the emission together with the low interest rate have made the electricity prices from conventional and emerging energy technologies to be similar. The Canadian Electric Association in conjunction with Power companies must work together to implement new innovative technologies that would minimize the environmental impact of power facilities. As more people move to the province, more energy will be required for use. The industries in the province have continued to grow because the province is reach in minerals. One of the growing industries influencing power generation is metal manufacturing. Approximately 11 billion activities are carried out per year and it is one of the Canada’s main manufacturers of metals, billions of dollars are spend in power every year. Another economic factor that is influencing power generation is aerospace and defense industry. The province is well situated for aerospace and defense, the companies there provides a variety of aerospace goods and services. The industry provides goods and services such as robotics and unmanned vehicle system, electronics meant for defense, study of space, manufacturing and logistic support for military. Due to globalization the industry has continued to grow. Alberta is the leading petrochemical manufacturing province in Canada, this is another economic factor. It has four ethylene industries which produce a total of four million tons annually, the industry has been expanding hence demanding for more power. The economy status of Alberta province is the strongest in Canada. It is boosted by the petroleum industry, agriculture and technology. The GDP in 2011 was $200 million and the growth rate stand at 3.3%, in 2006, their GDP was the highest in Canada. The current unemployment rate stands at 5.4 percent which is not bad. It has had an annual average increase of 12.8% from 2003, as compared to china with 14.7%; so it is among the fastest growing economies in the world. According to the study conducted, it was found that the province has high level of economic freedom and rates in Canada, this has boosted their economy. It is one of the areas in the world that has the most dependable energy providers in the world, build on natural resources such as oil sands; it is also the leading exporter of oil to US. From the year 2000 to 2011, the export of goods and services has risen from 40 percent reaching 85 billion dollars in 2011. The increasing number of exports is manufactured products and services. The manufacturing industry grew from 2000 to present by 60 billion dollars percent due to enough power supply and more than 400, 000 jobs were created within the period. The unemployment rate is less than 6.4 percent which is the second lowest in canada and investment per capital in 2011 was found to be 18,900 dollars, this nearly doubles the Canada average of about 9,900 per capital. It leads in the economic well being with an index of o.73 out of 1.00, the index value is 30 percent more than the Canada average. The province has a favorable environment that supports productivity; it has low taxes, well developed innovative systems, enough skilled labor force and a culture of entrepreneurship. The tax advantage results from noi general sales tax, the tax of gasoline is the lowest in the country, and health care premiums are not there. This lower tax has made people spend or invest more with their money according to their likes. ATCO is the top employer in Alberta province; it has more than 8,000 employees working on 3 different businesses units, power generation, utilities and global Enterprises. The company control operations through Canadian utilities and it own more than 75 percent of the Canadian utilities. The company was founded in 1947 by Ron Southern and his father. It became a public company in 1968 and shares were traded at Toronto. It has assets of more that 12 billion dollars worldwide. Following the deregulation of energy sector in 2004, it sold the retail operations of ATCO gas and electric to company called direct energy marketing limited. The two still operate as distributors but are no longer part of retail market. During the 2011 quarter, there was a 4% increase in adjusted earnings up to 83 million dollars or 1.76 per dollar. The cash flow of 2011 increase by 33% to reach 474 million dollars in quarterly as compared to the previous year when it was 357 million dollars, there was also an increase of contributors by rate payers by 1.3 billion dollars of infrastructure build in the province. What offset the gains were two regulatory decisions, which are negating ATCO certain program and capital cost, at the same time decreasing utilities approved return on equity. The quarter revenue increase to 1.13 billion dollars from last year 955 million dollars. A full year earnings adjusted for one time gain and loses increase by 11 percent from 340 million dollars or 5.6 dollars per share. Total year cash flow was 1.52 billion dollars up from the previous year 1.22 billion dollars. Revenue jump from 3.49 billion dollars to 4 billion dollars. the utility limited regulated utilities and energy service unit, increasing the earnings associated with equity owners of 156 million dollars. Opportunities available for electrical engineers at this industries range from research and development to highly specialized work. The specialization will include power generation, transmission and distribution, communications, Technical Assurance Engineering, Lines Encroachment Engineer, Electrical Designer, and manufacture of electronics devices. The responsibilities of electrical designer are to work from rough sketches into developing engineering concepts to real design. It also come up and lay down the original drawings and collect data from the field and measurement to get the projected requirements. The functions of a Technical Assurance Engineering is to come up with electrical safety and protection, provide technical assistance in site management, and review and approval electrical work that has risk. Electrical technologist design power, lightening and communication systems in houses and companies, supervise the establishment of companies data communications and networks, manage projects, prepare cost estimates for projects, and write specification of equipments needed in a project. References Dina OMeara and Calgary Herald. (2012). ATCO reports record profits on power prices, housing Company cashes in on resource development growth. Calgary Herald. Accessed on 5/2/2012 on http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/ATCO+Group+boosts+earnings+energy+projects/6191714/story.html?id=6191714. International Energy Agency, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, SourceOECD (Online service). (2007). Tackling Investment Challenges in Power Generation: In IEA Countries. Toronto: OECD Publishing. Alberta. Alberta Resource Development. (2000). new power generation in Alberta: a guide to bringing new electric generation on stream. Toronto: Alberta Resource Development. Read More