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Fossil fuel companies get involved in renewables, but are they serious?

One concern, however, is that companies may use their clean energy holdings as a token to show they are in game, but not take it seriously. And if government support policies shift to favour big companies – who prefer tax breaks over financial aid – that won’t help,

Energy giants take aim at renewables, CTV News RICHARD BLACKWELL, 3 Jan 2011, Several of Canada’s largest energy and resource companies are quietly staking out positions in a sector that seems at odds with their usual extractive activities: the renewable power business. Oil sands, pipeline and coal-power firms are now among the biggest players in renewables, with portfolios of wind, solar, small hydro power and ethanol production that in some cases outpace the holdings of most “pure” green companies.

Environmentalists and small companies in the sector are sanguine about the competitors; they welcome the big firms as a significant source of clout and capital that can add momentum to the shift to renewable energy.

“It reflects the reality of energy in the 21st century,” said Ian Bruce, a climate change specialist at the David Suzuki Foundation. “A lot of the innovation is happening at the small company level and then is getting [moved] up to larger businesses that have the capital to invest more.”…….

Small green energy companies agree. “The more that gets done, the better, whether it is by a pure play or by a traditional fossil fuel generator,” said Kent Brown, the former chief executive officer of Canadian Hydro who is now running a startup firm called BluEarth Renewables Inc. “We want to see projects get done and get done successfully.”

Tim Weis, director of renewable energy policy at the Pembina Institute, said the fact that large companies have the resources to shift “big money” into the renewable sector can be very helpful, and if they use their political clout to support it, that’s even better. One concern, however, is that companies may use their clean energy holdings as a token to show they are in game, but not take it seriously. And if government support policies shift to favour big companies – who prefer tax breaks over financial aid – that won’t help, he added……

CTV News | Energy giants take aim at renewables

January 4, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, renewable