Francis Plourde

As I mentioned earlier on this blog, I’m preparing a feature story about the clean energy industry in Vancouver.

It leads to many interesting meetings and interviews. But it also leads to many questions. Such as this one: “Why is there 200 companies working on alternative sources of energy in Vancouver?”

After all, BC is not that interested in these high tech sources of energy. The province has access to cheap power, and most of the solutions these companies provide are (much) more expensive.

The only concrete reason I can see at this point is UBC’s power of attraction.

A lot of these companies are spin-offs from UBC, one of the leading universities in the world in terms of research.

Many engineers and scientists came to the West Coast to pursue their studies and decided to stay here. They built an informal community of crazy scientists working on fuel cells, solar power or gasification systems…

One of them, Geoffrey Ballard, was even named “Hero of the Planet” in 1999 by Time Magazine.

As I wrote earlier, the companies they built are now gaining momentum. They now have to establish it as successful companies rather than promising ones. If they succeed, they will show to the world the importance of investing in post-secondary education.

But I’m also impressed by the irony of the situation.

Day4 Energy, one of the most promising companies working on solar systems, is based in Vancouver.

Between me and you, what’s the interest of developing a solar system in one of the most rainy cities in Canada? I wonder.