Technical Tours
Expand your knowledge and attend on site tours of Calgary facilities on the cutting-edge of technology and environmental practices.
Rocky Mountain Environmental Tour
Monday, June 24 • 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Tour some of the Rocky Mountain Region’s environmental innovations and catch the beautiful scenery on this full day tour.
1. Lafarge Exshaw is the largest cement plant in Canada and is committed to becoming a net-zero company through the decarbonization of building materials through targeted innovations and improvements. They are meeting their goals through 40-50% wind power, recycling concrete and using low carbon fuels and also intends to replace natural gas from fossil fuels with low carbon fuels to 80% within the next decade. This part of the tour includes a presentation and 1-hour bus tour of the facility.2. Attendees will next head to the beautiful mountain town of Canmore where attendees can eat lunch (cost on their own) at the Grizzly Paw Brewery, take in the beautiful scenery and visit local shops in the town.
3. The next quick stop is the University of Calgary’s Biogeoscience Institute (BGI) at the Barrier Lake Research Station, serving as the only research station for the Canadian Rockies and Foothills, BGI’s mission is to provide and support high quality science through independent research or research clusters. 4. The final stop on the way back to downtown Calgary will be the The Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir (SR1), which is a $1B engineering project designed to reduce flood impacts in along the Elbow River in Calgary and other downstream communities as part of an overall flood mitigation system. SR1 will reduce flood risk by managing downstream river flow rates and volume. This goal will be met while protecting the river, critical habitats, fish and wildlife.
Cost: $75. Sold out and currently on a wait list. Contact Gerald Armstrong to be added to the wait list. Includes transportation and required safety equipment.
Fuel Technology Tour
Wednesday, June 26 • 8:30 am – 12:30 pm
Three stops on this tour highlight Alberta’s innovation in environmental power generation.
1. Operated by Enmax Corp., the Shepard Energy Centre is Alberta's largest natural gas-fueled power generating facility. Using combined-cycle technology, two natural gas-fueled turbines and one steam turbine provide more than 860 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the provincial grid - enough to meet almost half of Calgary's current needs. Shepard uses reclaimed water from a wastewater treatment plant for its process requirements and emits less than half the carbon dioxide per MW of conventional coal plants. The tour will include a presentation and discussion on Enmax low emission process, and plans to reduce GHG emissions.
2. The Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre (ACCTC) is a unique facility built to research, validate and demonstrate prototypes, and mitigate the risk of carbon capture and utilization technologies. This stop on the tour will cover current research, demonstrations, and scale-up of carbon capture technology.
3. The third stop on the tour is to Carbon Upcycling, who has developed a novel technology platform using carbon dioxide emissions from any industry, combined with natural materials or industrial wastes—from coal plants, steel plants, glass manufacturing and more—to unlock new materials with improved performance and lower emissions. Carbon Upcycling harnesses the power of carbon—as carbon dioxide—to make materials more sustainable. Their technology enables local, abundant and low emissions production of some of the most common materials on the planet, like cement, plastics, consumer products, fertilizers, and even pharmaceuticals.
Steel toe shoes or boots are required. Limit 20 attendees
Cost: $45. A few spots still left! Includes transportation.
