First Guest Speaker of 2015:
At the Harbour House. Friday, January 9th, 7-9pm
Creating a Renewable Energy Future Together.
Sean Magee, Director Community Renewable Projects, Bullfrog Power
How can community-based green
energy projects help accelerate Canada’s transition to a renewably powered future?
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Special Guest Speaker:
At the Harbour House. Friday, October 24, 7pm
Electric Tourism And It’s Future on Salt Spring Island
John Stonier, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur
, has a great approach to stimulate Salt Spring’s economy while moving us toward a much greener future. Stonier will present his plan on Friday, October 24 at the Harbour House in a presentation cosponsored by the Community Energy Group and Salt Spring Air.
Stonier’s illustrated talk, Electric Tourism And It’s Future on Salt Spring Island, will explore steps that businesses, organizations, and individuals can take to help create an “Electric Vehicle Tourism Mecca” here on the island.
With over 140,000 plug-in EV owners on the West Coast (and rapidly growing), the future of EV tourism will quickly reach significant proportions. John will outline the steps we can take to develop a reasonable-cost infrastructure for EV tourism, and then create a Salt Spring EV tourism brand to attract EV owners along the West Coast.
“The EV owner demographic is higher income, progressive thinking, and also benefits from their monthly fuel and operating cost savings on their vehicles that is at least $250 per month”, he writes. “This demographic is looking to travel in their vehicles – and the energy costs to do so are trivial. The most important factor for EV owners in choosing a place to stay is whether accommodations will allow them to charge overnight.”
John Stonier has owned several electric vehicles, including a DIY Electric Porche Boxter. He has been Director of the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association, has started several high-tech companies, and is currently the co-founder and CEO of VeloMetro, an innovative startup with the goal to provide a completely sustainable transportation option for urban commuters around the globe that is also cost-effective, environmentally-friendly, and fun to ride.
B & B owners, business managers, prospective electric vehicle owners and anyone interested in modern low-carbon transportation will be interested in this informative talk. The talk begins at 7:00 pm with admission by donation.
Photon Power with Dr. Michael Mehta of Gabriola Island
August 19th – 7pm, Tuesday
The future is solar!
Don’t miss this fascinating talk on the 
future of energy and the electricity grid and the power of micro-grids. At 7pm at the Library on August 19, Michael Mehta will explore these topics and give insights into community-based initiatives to build sustainable energy options. The event is co-sponsored by the Energy Group and the Salt Spring Public Library.
We all know that society’s addictions to fossil fuels are changing the world’s climate, threatening the Sea that surrounds our island home, and threatening the future well-being of our grandchildren. In this talk, Michael Mehta will describe positive steps toward building sustainable communities through community energy options.
Mehta is the founder and Director of GabEnergy, a non-profit organization on Gabriola Island with a mission to produce and sell solar power on the Island. He is also a teacher at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops where he specializes in community resistance (we might value some advice here!), community resilience, and social innovation with a particular emphasis on citizen science
Past Free Information Sessions
Wednesdays 4-5 pm – SSI Library Program Room
May 14 – Plugging Into the Grid – Learn about BC Hydro’s Net Metering Program and how local people are using photovoltaic (PV) equipment to “turn the meter back”. We will discuss system basics, how best to save on Hydro bills, and how to use the grid for efficient and inexpensive storage.
May 21 – Monitor Your Electricity – A how-to session about saving money and energy by tracking your electrical energy use. Use your energy data to inform decisions about energy retrofits such as insulation, new appliances or heat pumps.
May 28 – Renewables Are The Future – It may not seem so here in BC, but the move to renewable energy is sweeping the world. Find out more about exciting developments around the world – it will be a look into the changes we all need to adopt.
June 4, 11, 18 – More great topics and speakers T.B.A.