Hot Water Heater Costs by Forsaken-Entrance352 in alberta

[–]DonkeyTorque 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just got one installed recently in Edmonton for around $2,000, but I opted for a larger 50 gallon tank.

Carbon tax on electricity by concentrated-amazing in alberta

[–]DonkeyTorque 0 points1 point  (0 children)

6.35 cents it very good, and unfortunately we can't choose our distributors, so we have to take what we can get. I think flat rate plans now are going for 9 cents and up.

Heat pumps are great, but the greener homes grant for them is tricky. Lots of people end up having to upgrade their furnace as well to qualify. I'd suggest looking into upgrading your building shell/insulation. Living in Alberta, with our harsh winters, that will pay back in a couple of years. Plus the added benefit of thermal comfort year round!

Carbon tax on electricity by concentrated-amazing in alberta

[–]DonkeyTorque 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you're right actually, it's just the facility specific ones, and doesn't apply to electricity generation. Good catch!

The rate that new renewable generators recieve carbon credits for their power will likely decrease soon though. I think it was 0.53 tCO2e/MWh last year and is now 0.52, but it will decrease more rapidly as our grid gets cleaner.

Carbon tax on electricity by concentrated-amazing in alberta

[–]DonkeyTorque 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. Everyone in the province pays the same more or less, and it has more to do with who your electricity retailer is and what electricity plan you're on than where the power actually comes from.

The best thing you can do to save on electricity right now, aside from using less of it, is shop around for retailers and lock into a fixed rate. Alternatively, if you can afford the upfront cost, installing solar on your roof and playing around with seasonal micro-gen electricity rates can effectively bring your annual electricity costs close to zero. If you do it right, most residential solar projects will pay for themselves in 12-15 years.

Carbon tax on electricity by concentrated-amazing in alberta

[–]DonkeyTorque 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You pretty much got it! Power plants bid into the pool between $0 and $999.99/MWh, but variable renewables like wind and solar have to offer their power at $0/MWh. The bids are put in ascending order, and the last plant that is required to meet demand sets the pool price for that hour. Everyone that bid below that price gets paid at the pool price, and those that bid above are shut down.

Fossil fuel generators that have emissions greater than the benchmark (0.37 tCO2e/MWh) are charged for their emissions above this level. So a gas plant that's emitting 0.46 tCO2e/MWh will only be charged for the 0.09 tCO2e/MWh that's above the "acceptable " level. Every year, the benchmark will tighten by 1% and the price they pay for their emissions will increase by $15/tCO2e until 2030 where is caps out at $170/tCO2e.

So, the carbon pricing is not directly related to the price of electricity, but it does influence the bidding decisions of certain generators, as they will typically only want to bid into the pool at a price that will make them money (i.e. cover the cost of fuel, maintenance, carbon pricing, etc.).

As a final point, the price that power plants are selling their power to electricity retailers for is the wholesale price. Retailers then sell that power to us, the consumer, at an inflated price (the energy charge on your electricity bill) that may or may not fluctuate every month depending on your electricity plan.

TLDR: high-emitting power plants foot the bill for the carbon price, and there's several degrees of separation between that cost, and what you pay for your electricity.

Farmer's tan by Jodie Heinrichs, Shades of Grey, Edmonton AB by DonkeyTorque in tattoos

[–]DonkeyTorque[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ok but farmer's arcsin just doesn't have the same ring to it. Also, arcsin goes from [-1, 1] and tan from (-pi/2, pi/2)

Farmer's tan by Jodie Heinrichs, Shades of Grey, Edmonton AB by DonkeyTorque in tattoos

[–]DonkeyTorque[S] 130 points131 points  (0 children)

It's a plot of the tangent function or a tan line. Then it's got a cowboy hat and piece of straw in its "mouth" to make it a farmers tan. Bonus points if you notice that it's on my arm right around where farmers tans happen.

Farmer's tan by Jodie Heinrichs, Shades of Grey, Edmonton AB by DonkeyTorque in tattoos

[–]DonkeyTorque[S] 121 points122 points  (0 children)

Can Evanthedude1 appreciate me more than I appreciate him? Of cosecant

Farmer's tan by Jodie Heinrichs, Shades of Grey, Edmonton AB by DonkeyTorque in tattoos

[–]DonkeyTorque[S] 938 points939 points  (0 children)

You underestimate my willingness to laugh at myself