Paul Bottrill MBA (Lon)

Breaking news! Today, Municipal Engineers Association (MEA) and Association of Consulting Engineering Companies - Ontario (ACEC-Ontario) have launched a revised Standard Agreement for engineering projects. The latest release of the latest MEA-ACEC-Ontario Standard Agreement for Engineering Services serves as an updated efficient resource for municipalities and consulting engineering firms alike. This updated agreement reflects the dedicated efforts of municipal engineers, consulting engineers, legal experts, and insurance professionals to provide a balanced framework for engineering projects. This Standard Agreement serves as a benchmark for clear, equitable project timelines and budgets, aligning with industry standards, business practices, and regulatory compliance. Stay tuned for further information on a webinar on how to best use this agreement in early 2025. View Agreement and User Guide here: https://buff.ly/4fHyba1 Read press release here: https://lnkd.in/gfdwKTSk

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Last week, the Municipal Engineers Association (MEA) and Association of Consulting Engineering Companies - Ontario (ACEC-Ontario) announced the release of the latest revision of the MEA-ACEC-Ontario Standard Agreement for Engineering Services. This updated agreement provides a balanced, consistent framework that: ✔️ Clearly defines roles and responsibilities ✔️ Streamlines commercial considerations ✔️ Fosters trust and fair risk allocation "By leveraging this agreement, municipalities can ensure consistency and enhance collaboration, helping achieve better project outcomes and fostering best practices across Ontario,” Andrew Hurd, Executive Director of ACEC-Ontario, highlighted. View the Agreement and User Guide here: https://buff.ly/4fHyba1 Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/gfdwKTSk #MEA #ACEC #OntarioInfrastructure #EngineeringExcellence

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We at Hydro Ottawa are proud to be a founding partner of the TGO Alliance, a groundbreaking partnership dedicated to fostering innovation and knowledge-sharing within the energy sector. ✅ By bringing together leading utilities, technology providers, and research institutions, the TGO Alliance is driving progress in key areas such as: - Grid Modernization: Advancing technologies that enable a more resilient, efficient, and sustainable energy grid. - Cybersecurity: Strengthening defenses against cyber threats to protect critical infrastructure and customer data. - Data Analytics: Leveraging data-driven insights to improve operational efficiency, optimize asset management, and enhance customer experience. - Renewable Energy Integration: Accelerating the transition to a clean energy future by facilitating the seamless integration of renewable sources. 💡 Through collaboration, we're able to leverage the collective expertise and resources of the TGO Alliance to build a more sustainable energy future. Read the release: https://lnkd.in/g_3CgSYi #EnergyTransition #Reliability #GridReliability #ElectricGrid #TGOAlliance #HydroOttawa

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Alberta’s major carbon capture project revs up. Pathways Alliance’s request for proposals from pipe manufacturers (http://spr.ly/6049sJnZc) and talks with Ottawa (http://spr.ly/6041sJnZl) on funding, signal progress on the long-awaited project. Proposed by six major oilsands companies, the $16.5 billion CCS project (http://spr.ly/6042sJnZm) involves transporting carbon from 20 oilsands facilities by pipeline to a storage terminal in Alberta’s Cold Lake area, reducing emissions by 22 megatonnes a year, or around 10% of sector emissions. Subscribe to our newsletter for more climate insights: http://spr.ly/6043sJnZW

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The Building Decarbonization Alliance recently published a jurisdictional scan of policies related to building heating decarbonization and electrification in Canada. While great progress has been made--especially with BC, Quebec and Nova Scotia leading the way with both provincial and municipal efforts to mandate decarbonization--we need more regulations across Canada at all levels of government in order to accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy. Our very own Erin Ellis sits on the BDA's Expert Advisory Panel, helping to advance this much-needed acceleration. Building deep retrofit programs are a win-win method of achieving heating decarbonization goals, while also providing benefits through ventilation, lighting, insulation and more. By integrating renewable or low-carbon energy sources and upgrading old or inefficient equipment, retrofit programs create a comprehensive approach to improving energy performance and reducing emissions. All provinces and municipalities should be introducing policies that encourage these programs at scale as a way to create brighter, healthier communities across Canada. https://lnkd.in/eHkD36vi #energyefficiency #buildingretrofits #energysolutions #decarbonization

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READ: Report from the Board Chair and CEO in our 2023/2024 Annual Report and learn how Engineers and Geoscientists BC remained anchored in our vision of modern regulation for a resilient world: https://ow.ly/I5zo50TFYAH

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🍂 Renewable energy projects are getting a second wind in B.C. BC Hydro announced it has awarded 30-year purchase agreements to nine wind projects, providing nearly 5,000 GWh/year—enough to power 500,000 new homes. 📞 The agreements come after a Call for Power was issued in April to acquire approximately 3,000 gigawatt hours per year (GWh/y) of clean electricity. It was BC Hydro’s first competitive call for power in more than 15 years. 🌬️ The province also announced it intends to exempt these wind projects and all future wind projects in B.C. from environmental assessment. 👉 Learn about every project that signed an agreement: https://lnkd.in/gF-X4C52

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Tidewater Renewables Ltd. eyes 2025 FID for SAF project Canadian energy transition company Tidewater Renewables Ltd. announced that the company has made significant progress on the front-end engineering design (FEED) on the proposed 6,500bpd sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project. “This included integrating lessons learned from the [renewable diesel and renewable hydrogen] HDRD Complex into the SAF project's design basis,” the company said while sharing the progress in the first quarter earnings announcement. The company said it will continue to progress commercial arrangements and is evaluating potential offtake agreements for the SAF project. #SAFAviation #SustainableAviationFuel #CleanAviation #ReduceCarbonEmissions #NetZeroAviation #AviationSustainability #DecarbonizeAviation #FutureOfAviation #SustainableTravel Read full below. https://lnkd.in/eAC-X38Z

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CAD // AB: AUC Rule 007 Consultation Sessions The Alberta Utilities Commission is conducting consultation on a review of Rule 007: Applications for Power Plants, Substations, Transmission Lines, Industrial System Designations, Hydro Developments and Gas Utility Pipelines, and enhanced interim information requirements. The AUC is initiating a series of consultations on specific topics. Topic 1 – Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 1-4pm (In-person at AUC’s Calgary office with virtual options) 🔺 Power Plant Applications: Approval renewal requirements, Approval transfers, Agricultural land, Land classification 🔺 Renewable Power Plant Applications: Appropriate setbacks from residences and other important infrastructure. Topic 2 – Monday, June 3, 2024, 1-4pm (In-person at AUC’s Calgary office with virtual options) 🔺 Energy Storage Facilities & Power Plant Applications: Reclamation security Topic 3 – Tuesday, June 4, 2024, 1-4pm (Virtual) 🔺 Municipal-focused issues: Land-use including agricultural use and setback requirements, By-laws on reclamation plans or security requirements, Other concerns from municipalities To register for one or more of the oral consultation sessions please email [email protected] by May 15, 2024.

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Ontario’s local hydro utilities have a plan! Solving Gird-Lock: Our Vision for a Customer-Centric Energy Transition recommends the policy and regulatory enablers that will advance the energy transition and make the province grid-ready, such as: · Promoting a shared customer-centric vision for electrification, the role of utilities, and clarity around the function of the OEB. · Considering alternative funding approaches and policies to support the required grid modernization and other strategic investments customers need. · Investing in the diverse talent development required to sustain a productive electricity sector workforce that can serve customers across the province. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/gV5Xj5-j #poweroflocalhydro #energy #electricity #sustainability

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Congratulations to our Energy Futures Lab colleagues and these incredible leaders on this important next phase of the Alberta's Electricity Future initiative. "While innovation is often thought of as purely technological, innovation in business models, policies, resources and investments, relationships and narratives (known collectively as social innovation) is also required to smooth paths to commercialization and mass adoption of new technologies as well as the transformation of associated policies, processes, and paradigms. What, for the industrial revolution, took centuries, must now be accomplished in a matter of decades in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change, which makes these often-overlooked social dimensions of change management critical." Learn More: https://lnkd.in/g6p5mN5R

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So I have to ask... Why isn't Canada investing in infrastructure projects like this? It doesn't have to be publicly funded, it could follow a model in a Public/Private partnership model similar to many other places in the world. Even if it's not a cross Canada rail, it makes so much sense to do in higher density population areas like between Calgary/Edmonton and the coastal regions. https://lnkd.in/eQqJTCMc #Infrastructure #Canada #Investment #BuildTheFutureWeWant

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Concrete is responsible for 7% of global emissions and remains a primary construction material worldwide. Canada is leading on decarbonizing concrete through the Cement and Concrete Breakthrough initiative, co-launched with the UAE at COP28. By establishing international standards, creating demand, and promoting innovation, we’re working to make low-carbon concrete the preferred choice by 2050🌱. Explore Canada’s role in moving towards low-carbon concrete: https://lnkd.in/gSP-NNjZ #COP29

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Could financing be the key to unlocking major #decarbonization projects? Watch our on-demand webinar to learn about innovative financing solutions that are enabling decarbonization in buildings and facilities across the nation: https://heyor.ca/EEyVBT

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From 2006 to 2016, improvements in energy efficiency reduced emissions from infrastructure, but it was not until 2017 that the federal government addressed the issue of reducing the environmental impact of construction materials. It’s estimated that the GHGs from construction and construction materials account for 11% of Canada’s total emissions. Read the report Greening of Building Materials in Public Infrastructure: https://ow.ly/paHl50RuGEQ

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The bottom line: A bigger and bolder future for Canada requires infrastructure to support it.    We must invest in and build infrastructure to keep pace with a growing population and be resilient to climate change. This year’s Scorecard highlights that while investment in Canadian infrastructure has seen some improvements, it remains inadequate given the aging of assets and the increasing frequency of climate-related events.  👀 Take a look: https://lnkd.in/g9CWgbBh

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📢 Ontario’s Electricity Demand Forecast Increases by 75% – Key Considerations By Kausar Ashraf On October 16, 2024, the IESO released its 2025 Demand Forecast as part of its Annual Planning Outlook (APO). With electricity demand expected to grow by 75% by 2050, Ontario is gearing up for a dramatic shift in its energy landscape.   This forecast highlights major growth drivers such as: 1. Industrial Loads: EV supply chains and large industrial decarbonization projects. 2. Data Centers: The rise of AI and cloud computing driving infrastructure demand. 3. Electrification: Transportation, heating, and cooling are pushing the grid to new limits.   Key risks include the materialization of large projects and the impact of economic and climate uncertainties. As Ontario accelerates its energy transition, navigating these risks will be crucial.   💡 Interested in how these changes will impact the market? Contact Power Advisory to learn more! #EnergyTransition #OntarioEnergy #ElectricityDemand #EnergyInvestments #GridInnovation #PowerAdvisory Read the full commentary on our website. https://lnkd.in/gnzH3Vbm

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