Local energy company investing in disruptive technologies to shift Alberta towards a renewable energy future
By: David Morales and Deanna McArthur
EMCO Energy, founded by a motivated and visionary team of professionals and academics, offers competitive rates for electricity, natural gas and green energy in Alberta.
Sounds like just another energy provider? Not really. Here is the difference: all profits from EMCO are funneled into the GO Technology Foundation (GO), a not-for-profit organization that wholly owns EMCO.
GO is modelled in a completely new way of doing business. It is a social enterprise that owns profitable ventures; the profits from each venture are reinvested into other local-based projects/ventures. The aim is to enable innovation to make social, environmental and economic change. By re-investing profits, it anchors capital, thus creating a self-propelled engine that makes a better future for everyone.
The importance of supporting EMCO is easily translated and explained as a funding engine to help the Foundation invest in future ventures within the community. Consumers benefit by lowering their energy rates and feeling good about the money they spend on energy.
“We started out as a group of people who wanted to see things change in Calgary and beyond,” said Navin Huq, Director of EMCO Energy and Board Member of the GO Technology Foundation. “We want to be at the forefront of future technologies. Instead of having the big companies developing technologies in the interest of shareholders, we can make decisions to benefit society, our community, and the planet.”
The Foundation is focused on anticipating and integrating “disruptive tech,” which Navin defines as technologies that change the current paradigm of how we do things.
The Foundation anticipates a highly automated future, and is focused on developing disruptive technologies in areas such as:
- Logistics (Example: A to B traveling)
- Information (Example: Internet)
- Food
- Energy
The introduction of EMCO Energy to Alberta’s energy market is the first income generating piece of GO’s structure.
Reducing the Cost of Renewable Energy Technologies
One of the first energy-focused projects being supported by the Foundation is the development of a new micro-inverter for solar panels. In the current market, this type of micro-inverter costs about $250. In partnership with a company out of Ottawa, the Foundation has developed a more cost-effective way for these inverters to be produced, with the hope of reducing the shelf price by more than 50%.“We are trying to bring down the cost of green technology,” said Huq. “Instead of going out there and raising funds to install large solar farms, we are innovating on the technology and bringing down the component costs so that more people/companies can build out the capacity. We simply don’t have the people‑power to roll out a large build, but we can use our brains to make it cheaper.”
The ultimate vision of the Foundation is to bring renewable energy and other disruptive technology down to zero marginal cost. Take solar panels as an example. After the cost of purchasing, installing, and maintaining the panels is recouped (a cost that continues to be reduced due to innovation), all energy generated after that point is essentially free.
A New Way of Doing Business
Through a discussion with the Olds Institute, which operates in Olds, Alberta, the GO team learned of a viable structure that generates revenue to support the local community.The Energy Marketer program created by Utility Network and Partners Inc. (UTILITYnet), a privately-owned electricity data management company, breaks down barriers that smaller companies have to face when entering the Alberta energy market.
“By partnering with UTILITnet, we found a way to earn revenue without having to ask for donations, or for anyone to change their day to day lives - everyone has to pay their energy/utility bills,” said Huq. “Fundraising is useful, but we don’t want to rely on it. We want to become a force that is self-sustaining. Since consumers are already spending money on their utilities, this way, we can anchor capital into the community without having to change the day-to-day life of our customers.”
Additionally, in partnership with Green Alberta Energy, EMCO is able to offer consumers a way of reducing their carbon footprint, by greening a percentage of their electricity consumption.
“Through our request a quote process, when comparing our rates to a consumer’s previous supplier, we are seeing them save money (sometimes up to 30%), even after greening 100% of their electricity consumption,” said Huq. “This is a great opportunity for those who want to see change, but don’t necessarily know how to support that change.”
Creating Local Jobs
Another goal of the Foundation is to create local jobs. Product development is a huge focus for the Foundation and it hopes to create and keep engineering, technology development, and manufacturing jobs in the province.“There are a large number of very talented people who leave Calgary in search of technology-based jobs,” said Huq. “We are hoping to give people a platform that provides jobs in these areas so they can stay and work here.”
“Companies like EMCO are what Alberta needs – a group of bright minded individuals focused on promoting an essential service and investing in new technology,” said Nick Clark, co-founder of Utility Network and Partners Inc. “Premier Notley hit the nail on the head in her recent comments on why Calgary was not short listed for Amazon’s HQ2. We need to diversify our economy. We need to invest in technology and people. This group has picked up the challenge and are full of refreshing ideas and the entrepreneurial spirit of Alberta.”
Additionally, EMCO utilizes UTILITYnet’s Customer Care Team, which is based in Calgary, a feature which is unique in Alberta’s energy industry where many customer service jobs have been shipped overseas by large utility companies.
Who’s Behind EMCO Energy?
Navin Huq: Huq is an engineer working in environmental consulting.Dustin Poole: Poole is a successful entrepreneur who owns Eclipse Sustainability Projects and is a founding board member of Passive House Alberta.
Jon Bichel: Bichel is an electrical engineer and entrepreneur who partly owns and operates PK Sound.
Chris Healey: Healey is currently completing his PhD in Quantum Information Science and Technology at the University of Calgary.
The future is bright for this group of talented individuals who plan to pool their expertise and networks to spread the word about EMCO Energy and the GO Technology Foundation.
“We seem to be having more and more conversations about how things need to change,” said Huq. “Instead of just talking about it, we are actually doing it.”